Michigan vs Neb.

[Artermis]

Ecker gave up at the end because the refs were waving their arms and blowing the play dead. There was no reason for him to continue on.



Art

[Glenn]

First 5 loss season since 1984.

This could be a good loss, I'm ready for Lloyd to go now.


alsoididn'twatchthegame

[Jethro34]

Ecker gave up at the end because the refs were waving their arms and blowing the play dead. There was no reason for him to continue on.



Art

It didn't look that way to me, but if they did blow the play dead it's just another reason tacked onto the long list of horrendous calls made.

By the way, the minute Husker players started pouring onto the field there should have been a flag, Tirico said that too. It's nice when an announcer isn't afraid to speak the truth. The print media is covering the asses of the refs - which they often have to do - by saying both teams were on the field. True, but the Huskers bench poured on well before the Michigan bench and after any flag would have been thrown.

[WTFchris]

yeah, that was the worst officiated game I've ever seen. I agree with all the calls pointed out here. And I was yelling at the TV for Ecker to give the ball to breaston too. I didn't see any officials wave the play dead, but they were standing around instead of running with the ball.

You also missed the bad call where they ran an extra 10 seconds off the clock before Nebraska punted. The play clock did not start for a full 10 seconds after the runner was down and the refs had the ball. Perhaps they could have run a couple plays instead of that crazy play.

[MoTown]

Has there been a more disappointing season for the state of Michigan football teams ever? The one crutch I've always had as a Lions fan is the fact that my Wolverines will always be very good. My heart just hurts after this year.

State fans had it just as bad, with the promise of a good season only to be taken away by a crazy old guy who can't coach.

[Glenn]

It's nice when an announcer isn't afraid to speak the truth.

It helps that Tirico lives in Ann Arbor, or at least he used to.

[WTFchris]

I thought him and Kirk both called a spade a spade. Problem is, they failed to mention the pass interferance or rip on the refs at all in the highlights/recap of the game. Mike and Kirk were on top of it, but anyone that didn't watch the game won't know that and nobody else is taking the refs to task on their crap calls.

[WTFchris]

Here's a good recap of the bad calls. I forgot about the fumble they never called in the first half too.

Alamo Officials should have done something about final play
Thursday, December 29, 2005

By Bob Becker
The Grand Rapids Press

SAN ANTONIO -- There's a pretty good chance that most of the people who stayed up to watch the Michigan-Nebraska Alamo Bowl game Wednesday night turned their TVs off in disgust about 10 minutes too soon.

By dinner time tonight, ESPN will have shown that frantic back-and-forth final play a million times. And maybe, if you see it a couple of times, you will understand how much it matched the entire evening.

Pay close attention the next time you see a replay, and watch what the referee does. Jim Jackson, who helped put Sun Belt officiating back about half a century, is chasing Michigan's Tyler Ecker down the sideline.

He is step-for-step with Ecker, finally signaling the ball dead at the Nebraska 13.

And why is this important? Because by this time the entire Nebraska team was on the field, celebrating a game that had not been whistled over.

"The whistle never blew," Michigan senior Pierre Woods said. "I stood there and watched the guy chase Tyler down the field. The ball was live, but they had people everywhere. Their bench had cleared."

Not just Nebraska. The Alamo Bowl officials were wheeling out the trophies and presentation stand as Ecker made his 62-yard sprint. He was tackled by Nebraska's Zach Bowman and Titus Brothers on the Huskers' 13.

They were the only two Nebraska

players left between Michigan and the goal line. Ecker, on the other hand, had two teammates trailing him. He couldn't pitch, however, because the reviewing stand was being wheeled right out in front of them.

One goofy play does not make a football game. In fact, though a win is a win, Michigan would have been embarrassed to take one out of the loss column that way.

But it was a fitting ending to this season, a season when so many things went right for 45 minutes, then just came apart in the last 15.

"We talked about finishing for a month," running back Michael Hart said. "But we just couldn't do it. There is no way that game should have ever come down to that last play."

Once again Michigan did itself in. Holding a 28-17 lead with 11:40 left, the Wolverines forced Nebraska into three-and-out. But Michigan couldn't do anything either, and punted the ball back to the Cornhuskers, and this time it took only two plays for a score and a two-point conversion.

How many times have we see this scenario? At Wisconsin? Against Minnesota at home? Against Ohio State at home?

Something is missing, and nobody had managed to get it figured out. The Lloyd Carr haters will put it on the coach's shoulders, and he deserves some of it, simply because he's in charge.

But Garrett Rivas missed a field goal. Jason Avant coughed up the ball, which Nebraska converted into the winning drive, Chad Henne forced a pass into the back corner of the end zone that was intercepted, taking away the chance for at least three points.

And then you have the clowns from the Sun Belt. Is that really a Division I conference?

In the first quarter, Nebraska's Cory Ross fumbled. It was so obvious that TV didn't need to show multiple angles to make the call. But a call was never made, because, for some reason, it was never reviewed.

One play later Nebraska had its first touchdown.

Late in the game Henne had the ball knocked out of his hand as he tried a pass. His follow-through was easily evident, but instead of an incomplete pass, the ball was ruled a fumble and turned over to Nebraska, who then took it in for a score.

The last play should not have been the last play, goofy as it was. There was a point that the ball hit the ground during multiple exchanges, but if it was a backwards toss, it was a fumble and not an incomplete pass.

Nobody blew the whistle, and as previously noted, the referee actually chased the ball down the field, as the Nebraska bench emptied in celebration.

Carr had to use up a time out to allow a review of a "touchdown" pass, which the replay showed had hit the ground. Nebraska lost the seven points, but Michigan lost a time-out, which would have been worth gold in that final drive.

Michigan did the deed, but the officiating should face charges as an accomplice. Anybody who invests time and money into big-time college football has a right to expect more competence than they got here Wednesday night.

But that doesn't let Michigan off the hook.

The Wolverines let opportunity slip away five times this season. That's five times too many.

Carr has to figure out what went wrong. One time can be chalked up to bad fortune. Five times means something serious is out of kilter.

And please, spare me. It's not the coaching.

The coaching got that 11 point lead. The players on the field gave it back.

Two of the finest football programs in NCAA history met here Wednesday. A game like that should never come down to a play made up in the huddle.

[theMUHMEshow]

This game is not even worth talking about...It was a pure and utter joke from every angle...thank god Petway is back. I am done with UM Football this year

[Artis Gilmore]

WTF WAS THAT?

Don't be jealous or anything...

I'd rather not be in a bowl than lose to a shitty team in a shitty bowl. Plus 3 bowls games in a row they have lost.

State had a mental breakdown this season, which means next season they will be better.