Oklahoma looks forward, not at replay
They have been asking “what if” in Norman, Okla., almost since Sept. 16, when Oklahoma, the victim of a controversial ruling by an instant-replay official, lost to Oregon.
So imagine the outcry now that Oklahoma is headed to the Big 12 Conference championship game.
With two losses, instead of one.
And knowing that three days before they clinched a spot in the conference title game, that same replay official acknowledged to an Oklahoma newspaper that he messed up the call.
Had Oklahoma won that game, the Sooners surely would be among the one-loss teams with a shot at a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game, especially with the way one-loss teams became an endangered species over Thanksgiving weekend.
Don’t expect to hear any whining from the Sooners, though.
“We’re just looking forward instead of going backward,” defensive back Lendy Holmes said.
Let us look back, then.
The replay foul-up was the controversy of the year in college football, and it only becomes more magnified now that Oklahoma is the Big 12 South Division champion.
The botched call in the Sept. 16 game came on an onside kickoff by Oregon with the Ducks trailing, 33-27, with 1 minute 12 seconds left.
Replays showed the kick was touched by an Oregon player before it traveled the required 10 yards, and, therefore, possession should have been awarded to Oklahoma, but the replay official awarded the ball to Oregon, which drove for a touchdown and a 34-33 victory.
On Wednesday, replay official Gordon Riese told the Oklahoman that the replay angle he used to award possession did not show the Oregon player touching the ball, but acknowledged that other angles showed a different story.
Riese said that the video also showed that an Oklahoma player actually recovered the ball, but he could not overturn that call because that aspect of the play could not be reviewed under the rules.
Oklahoma dropped from No. 15 to No. 17 after the loss, then dropped to No. 23 after a loss to Texas two weeks later. The week after that, running back Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone, which was supposed to be the final blow to Oklahoma’s season, but look at the Sooners now.
They’re headed to the Big 12 championship game Saturday against Nebraska with a spot in a BCS bowl game on the line, and they’re up to No. 13 in the Associated Press rankings.
Meanwhile, Oregon (7-5) has gone 4-5 since that controversial victory, has lost its last three games and is probably headed to a pre-Christmas bowl game.
“We’ve overcome a lot, but we knew we could get here,” Oklahoma quarterback Paul Thompson said. “This is where we wanted to go, and we’re going.”
Into the title game
Wake Forest had lost eight consecutive games against Maryland, but the Demon Deacons picked a good time to end the streak.
Their 38-24 victory clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division title and a spot in the conference championship game Saturday against Georgia Tech.
They will play for their first conference title since 1970.
“These guys have even exceeded my expectations,” said Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe, whose team was selected to finish last in a preseason poll. “They’ve done some cool stuff.”
Staying put
Almost as soon as Miami Coach Larry Coker was fired Friday, Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano was rumored to be his replacement.
Schiano dispelled that idea Saturday.
“I have no plans to go anywhere else,” he said.
In his six years at Rutgers, Schiano transformed the Scarlet Knights from one of the nation’s lowliest programs into one that will play for the Big East Conference title and an automatic BCS bowl berth next week.
He was the defensive coordinator at Miami when he took the Rutgers job in 2000.
“I’m not going to talk about other jobs,” Schiano said. “Rutgers is my job. At this place, the sky’s the limit and I plan on being here to see it.”
Miami, though, could offer Schiano a lot more money.
Schiano has a base salary of $250,000 and with incentives this year, he could earn $1.3 million. Coker was earning $2 million annually at Miami.
Not gone yet
Coker will have one more game as coach of the Hurricanes.
Miami (6-6) is one of eight ACC teams that have qualified for postseason play. The ACC has tie-ins with eight bowls, so the Hurricanes are assured of competing in a bowl game for the ninth consecutive season.
Miami secured a spot Saturday when Virginia lost to Virginia Tech, 17-0.
Over the hump
South Carolina finally won a close game against a ranked opponent.
After going 0-5 against top-25 teams this season, losing four of those games by a touchdown or less, the Gamecocks defeated No. 24 Clemson, 31-28.
It ended a four-game losing streak to their in-state rivals.
“This one was for our fans,” Coach Steve Spurrier said. “They’ve lived through a lot.
“Hopefully, whatever bad things happened to South Carolina football may be erased today. Sometimes a game like this can do it. Only time can tell.”
Streak ends
San Diego lost, 37-27, to UC Davis, ending the Toreros’ winning streak at 18 games.
The streak was the longest in Division I-AA and second only to Ohio State’s 19 in all of Division I.
Can’t wait for basketball
Duke’s 45-44 loss to North Carolina ensured that the nation’s longest losing streak would be intact for opening week next season.
It was the 20th consecutive loss for the Blue Devils (0-12), who nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit by scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes, but had an extra-point try blocked with 2:49 to play.
In a rush
Danny Woodhead of Chadron State set an NCAA record for yards rushing in a season, reaching 2,740 with a 252-yard effort in the second round of the Division II playoffs.
Woodhead had four touchdowns in Chadron State’s 43-17 victory over West Texas A&M; and passed the season mark of 2,653 yards by Kavin Gailliard of American International in 1999.
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