Pac-10: Officials Missed USC Call

The Pacific 10 football officials who ruled that USC’s Kareem Kelly had scored a second-quarter touchdown Saturday against California made the wrong call, conference Commissioner Tom Hansen said Tuesday.

“It should not have been a touchdown,” Hansen said of the ruling made by back judge Jim Northcott and field judge Michael Mothershed.

The touchdown allowed USC to trim an 18-point deficit to 21-10. The Trojans went on to win the game, 30-28, and the victory stands.

Video replays showed Kelly trapping the third-down pass against the ground, but Pac-10 spokesman Jim Muldoon said the repercussions would be minimal.

Muldoon said the officiating crew would remain on its scheduled rotation, that no member was in danger of forfeiting an $825-a-game assignment this season, and that any additional criticism would be handled internally. The game officials could get poor grades from conference film graders and Verle Sorgen, coordinator of officials.

Cal Coach Jeff Tedford had an extensive discussion with Sorgen on Monday.

“I had a lot of issues with the officiating in that game ... the touchdown that wasn’t a touchdown,” Tedford said Tuesday. “I don’t think that was a stellar performance by the officiating crew by any means. You grade the officials every week, and we wrote down all the things that we saw that were poorly called. It goes on both sides of the ball. There was one where we had an illegal motion and it didn’t get called. So we reported ourselves too, because that’s what we have to do to help with the officiating. They have a tough job ... but I thought the officiating in the game was sub-par.”

Hansen’s acknowledgment of the miscall was the latest example of the increased public scrutiny of game officials.

In the Big Ten, Commissioner Jim Delany ruled earlier this month that officials who’d worked Purdue’s 24-21 loss to Wake Forest, an Atlantic Coast Conference team, on Sept. 21 had been punished by “forfeiting future assignments.” Such situations frequently rouse speculation that the officials, who work as independent contractors, have possibly been involved in gambling. But Delany said that was not an issue in this case.

He said the discipline had been based strictly on calls during the game and that each of the officials would return to work before the end of the season. Delany has defended his action as what should be expected from a detached third party who must exercise disciplinary discretion while holding officials and coaches to accountable standards.

Muldoon said the Pac-10’s stance of handling officials’ errors internally could help defuse future tensions.

“By and large, you’re better off doing it in-house,” Muldoon said. “You don’t want [officials] looking over their shoulder so much.”

Big Ten official Dick Honig didn’t look over his shoulder Sept. 28 as he left Penn State’s field after an overtime victory by Iowa. Penn State Coach Joe Paterno chased down Honig, grabbed his shirt and questioned him about “a couple of lousy calls on the other side of the field.” Delany did not discipline Paterno.

Paterno raised criticism of the Big Ten officials again Tuesday. On Saturday, Penn State was deprived of attempting a tying field goal in the final minute of a 27-24 loss to Michigan when an official ruled a receiver out of bounds, voiding a catch at the Wolverines’ 23-yard line. A replay showed the receiver had both feet inbounds. Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley called Monday for a comprehensive review of Big Ten officials.

Said Paterno, “There were some concerns about the assignment of the same crew this year that worked our Michigan game [last year]. There were some concerns about the fact that three of them live in Michigan. There were some concerns that some of them said to me that they had met with Dick Honig, who lives in Ann Arbor. Those kinds of things are what they should be looking at. Not necessarily that anybody is incompetent. We are all human beings and have friends and impulses. I think that is what Penn State would like to see have done. Just re-examine how officials are assigned.”

Utah Coach Ron McBride similarly questioned a Pac-10 official’s allegiance after a Ute receiver was ruled out of bounds while catching what McBride thought should have been a winning touchdown pass in a 23-17 loss to Arizona on Sept. 14.

“[Lead official Jim Fogltance is] a big UA guy,” McBride told the Salt Lake Tribune. “He lives there and has always been a big supporter.”

Hansen said he viewed all replays and determined the receiver had been out of bounds.

“It’s an imperfect science, but we’re convinced our officials care and that they miss very few calls,” Hansen said.