Officials Disciplined by Big Ten

The Big Ten Conference disciplined four officials Wednesday after determining they did a poor job during a Sept. 21 game between Wake Forest and Purdue.

“During the course of the game, these officials did not officiate well enough to meet Big Ten standards,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. “Therefore, they will forfeit future officiating assignments.”

A spokesman at the Big Ten’s office in Park Ridge, Ill., would not comment on what specific mistakes the crew made during the game, which Wake Forest won, 24-21.

Purdue Coach Joe Tiller said he was glad conference officials reviewed the game.

“In competitive athletics, everyone is held accountable,” Tiller said. “And it’s encouraging to know that they are holding officials accountable, too.”

Tiller would not discuss specific calls on Wednesday, but the Indianapolis Star reported that his staff zeroed in on two calls: A holding penalty that nullified a 67-yard run by the Boilermakers’ Joey Harris and an interference call against Purdue’s Stuart Schweigert on what was thought to be an uncatchable pass. The last call was on the Demon Deacons’ game-winning drive.

A seven-man crew worked the game, and four of those officials are listed on the Big Ten’s officiating staff. They are referee Daniel Capron, linesman Steve Beckman, back judge Scott Buchanan and side judge Don Swanson.

The Big Ten would not confirm that those were the four who were disciplined. The conference also would not say how many games the officials would miss.

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Joe Paterno will not be punished for grabbing the referee Dick Honig after Penn State’s overtime loss to Iowa, Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman said.

Paterno was upset over two calls against Penn State in overtime. When the game ended, Paterno sprinted down the field and grabbed Honing as he was headed to the locker room.

“All I did was try to stop him because he was running ahead of me,” Paterno said. “I was running to the locker room, I grabbed him by the shirt and I said ‘Hey, Dick, you had two lousy calls.’ Not he, I said the two guys on the other side had two lousy calls.”

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Notre Dame is 4-0 in the eyes of the bowl championship series after all. Reversing a decision made less than two weeks ago, the BCS said that the Fighting Irish’s victory over Maryland in the Kickoff Classic will count toward qualifying for a BCS game.

The change means the Irish are five victories from qualifying for one of two at-large berths for the four BCS games. Under BCS rules, teams must have nine ‘“nonexempt” victories to earn a chance to play in a BCS game.

Until this season, the first 19 Kickoff Classics, along with all the other “preseason classic” games, were considered “exempt.” However, since the date of the Notre Dame-Maryland game was changed to Aug. 31 from Aug. 24, it took place after the NCAA’s window of exempt games.

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Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett may not be scared of 300-pound defensive tackles, but he is scared of flying.

He’s so afraid of flying, the freshman says he’ll drive to the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., if Ohio State makes it all the way to the BCS title game.

“How do they know where they’re going up in the clouds? There ain’t no stop signs, no stop lights, nothing like that,” he said of airline pilots. “It’s kind of crazy, man. Seriously.”

The freshman has flown only once, to an all-star game in Texas in January. His next flight comes Friday when the No. 5 Buckeyes (5-0) travel to Evanston, Ill., to play Northwestern.

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The parents of former Florida State player Devaughn Darling sued the school, claiming their son died after complaining of dizziness and chest pains during a workout. Darling was 18 when he collapsed and died Feb. 26, 2001, of an apparent “cardiac arrhythmia.” He was penciled in as a starting outside linebacker entering spring practices.... Fred Russell, one of the nation’s leading rushers, has been granted an extra year of eligibility for a shoulder injury that sidelined him in his freshman year at Iowa. Russell will have two years of eligibility left after this season.