The bewildering Officiating Call I mentioned earlier:

[stormingnorm]

https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e0e72cf-e11a-46d1-a37f-962c435c5183

Go to the 2:04:30 Mark of the video... and watch it through about the 2:05:40 mark



This is the fumble by Maurice Ffrench.

Jan Johnson of PSU (#36) recovers the ball.

You can hear the umpire calling out that #36 has the ball (the Umpire is down on the ground in the scrum)
You can also see him - when Mustipher is basically asking "Do we have it?", and he nods to him, and Mustipher starts "mini-celebrating" (don't know what else to call it).

Even after Johnson gets up from the pile.... he is saying something like "You said it was our ball".

But - somehow - the Ref says that Pitt retains possession.


That was one of the most bewildering calls I've seen in a while (not because the end result was so blatantly bad (though it was, clearly, wrong)….. but because the Umpire clearly was saying it was "36 white's" ball. Yes, even though PSU has white pants and numbers - whereas Pitt has white jerseys….. but obviously he is referring to Johnson, #36)


Not sure if this was part of what CJF was so upset about wrt the officials.... but it was weird.

 

[Locolion]

https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e0e72cf-e11a-46d1-a37f-962c435c5183

Go to the 2:04:30 Mark of the video... and watch it through about the 2:05:40 mark



This is the fumble by Maurice Ffrench.

Jan Johnson of PSU (#36) recovers the ball.

You can hear the umpire calling out that #36 has the ball (the Umpire is down on the ground in the scrum)
You can also see him - when Mustipher is basically asking "Do we have it?", and he nods to him, and Mustipher starts "mini-celebrating" (don't know what else to call it).

Even after Johnson gets up from the pile.... he is saying something like "You said it was our ball".

But - somehow - the Ref says that Pitt retains possession.


That was one of the most bewildering calls I've seen in a while (not because the end result was so blatantly bad (though it was, clearly, wrong)….. but because the Umpire clearly was saying it was "36 white's" ball. Yes, even though PSU has white pants and numbers - whereas Pitt has white jerseys….. but obviously he is referring to Johnson, #36)


Not sure if this was part of what CJF was so upset about wrt the officials.... but it was weird.

I thought Johnson recovered it. That said, one should never stop fighting for the ball until you stand up with it in your hands. He was either outmuscled or outsmarted

I thought the pass interference call on John Reid was crap. No way that gets called on Ohio or Michigan. The receiver just fell

 

[BBrown]

https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e0e72cf-e11a-46d1-a37f-962c435c5183

Go to the 2:04:30 Mark of the video... and watch it through about the 2:05:40 mark



This is the fumble by Maurice Ffrench.

Jan Johnson of PSU (#36) recovers the ball.

You can hear the umpire calling out that #36 has the ball (the Umpire is down on the ground in the scrum)
You can also see him - when Mustipher is basically asking "Do we have it?", and he nods to him, and Mustipher starts "mini-celebrating" (don't know what else to call it).

Even after Johnson gets up from the pile.... he is saying something like "You said it was our ball".

But - somehow - the Ref says that Pitt retains possession.


That was one of the most bewildering calls I've seen in a while (not because the end result was so blatantly bad (though it was, clearly, wrong)….. but because the Umpire clearly was saying it was "36 white's" ball. Yes, even though PSU has white pants and numbers - whereas Pitt has white jerseys….. but obviously he is referring to Johnson, #36)


Not sure if this was part of what CJF was so upset about wrt the officials.... but it was weird.

The refs sucked ass no way around it.

 

[BBrown]

I haven't gone through it all to have much of an opinion wrt the game officiating, overall.

That one call though - IMO - was bewildering when watching it live.
So I went back to find it just to verify what I had seen...… and it's still bewildering.

I have a few. The PI call on Reid when the pitt wr fell down was utter BS.
The drop by Hippenhammer he was hit early.
I thought the pitt DB interfered on the Chisnea catch/non catch.
The pitt db threw a shot at Shorter when he was walking out of the endzone right in front of the ref.
For a couple of the pitt spots I thought it was the ghost of Whitovet.
I've watched the flag on the kick/punt interference a few times now and I think they blew that one as well.

in fairness, although I'm not sure if it would have mattered. On the sack right before Stout's big kick the center held the pitt guy. The dooshnozzle probably would have taken the sack.

 

[bmw199]

At the game yesterday and I blew a gasket after the kick catch interference replay. Not sure if we recovered that one too. Reid has two terrible PI calls go against him. They missed at least one horrible PI against Hippenhammer (why is he on the field??). Then of course the fumble you mention, and worst of all; how does a team with no time outs stop the clock indefinitely when tackled in bounds??

Refs are human but this is their job. It can’t be this bad. Worst since OSU 14. I wonder if we get two of the turn overs if we would have covered.

 

[ram2020]

Very clear helmet to helmet, eject-able really, hit by a Pitt LB on Clifford during a sideline run of his too.

 

[denniskembala]

Did you watch/listen?

He didn't get "outmuscled or outsmarted".

He had possession of the ball (specifically if you actually go back and look.... he had the ball curled up in his "gut" in more or less a fetal position.... the Pitt kid, behind him - facing JJ's back, was reaching in underneath him with his hands also grabbing at the ball).
The Umpire said he had the ball.
He got up - the play was over.
I'm sure he was the most shocked guy in the house when they gave Pitt possession.

There is nothing that he did "wrong"

Pity has been in the fetal position just forever!

 

[Locolion]

Did you watch/listen?

He didn't get "outmuscled or outsmarted".

He had possession of the ball (specifically if you actually go back and look.... he had the ball curled up in his "gut" in more or less a fetal position.... the Pitt kid, behind him - facing JJ's back, was reaching in underneath him with his hands also grabbing at the ball).
The Umpire said he had the ball.
He got up - the play was over.
I'm sure he was the most shocked guy in the house when they gave Pitt possession.

There is nothing that he did "wrong"

I couldn’t hear what was being said. If the refs were saying white has the ball, more reason to hold onto it. I was always taught, you don’t get out of the pile without the ball. When everyone is pulled off, you standup with the ball and hand it to the ref. He got up, it wasn’t in his hands. If he was holding the ball it would have more likely initiated a replay

On another note,did anyone else note the spotting of the ball? It was a 1 yard penalty vs Penn State on every play. A couple gave 1st downs to Pitt. There was also serious holding going uncalled vs Pitt That ACC crew was corrupt

 

[psuno1]

Watching the game on TV you could tell the Acc Officials wanted to keep Pitt in the game, the calls on Reid were legit in my opinion.

 

[Hotshoe]

I have to go back an rewatch to make sure, but they got a spot on 3rd down that gave them a 1st down. It looked short by at least a yard.

 

[bmw199]

Very clear helmet to helmet, eject-able really, hit by a Pitt LB on Clifford during a sideline run of his too.

I forgot stomping on Hamler

 

[84Lion]

That fumble call was very strange. To me, it took the officials waaay too long to make a decision; I thought, "they're not making a decision, they're trying to justify Pitt keeping the ball." And a number of the other calls mentioned... It wasn't just "poor officiating" but rather multiple incorrect calls, the vast majority of which seemed to benefit Pitt. I remember thinking, if it was at Ohio State or Michigan, you'd see "home cooking" for the Buckeyes or Wolverines, if it's at Penn State, you see "away cooking" for the away team. SMH.

I did also have in the back of my mind the thought that it all was rather funny in that for years so many people on this board have wanted PSU to leave the B1G for the ACC, presumably under the impression that we'd be "treated better." So much for that fantasy.

 

[AWS1022]

That fumble call was very strange. To me, it took the officials waaay too long to make a decision; I thought, "they're not making a decision, they're trying to justify Pitt keeping the ball." And a number of the other calls mentioned... It wasn't just "poor officiating" but rather multiple incorrect calls, the vast majority of which seemed to benefit Pitt. I remember thinking, if it was at Ohio State or Michigan, you'd see "home cooking" for the Buckeyes or Wolverines, if it's at Penn State, you see "away cooking" for the away team. SMH.

I did also have in the back of my mind the thought that it all was rather funny in that for years so many people on this board have wanted PSU to leave the B1G for the ACC, presumably under the impression that we'd be "treated better." So much for that fantasy.

But we’re a Big 10 team playing against an ACC team...it might be different if we were an ACC team and the ACC was desperately trying to get another team with a pulse outside of Clemson.

 

[nittany119]

That fumble call was very strange. To me, it took the officials waaay too long to make a decision; I thought, "they're not making a decision, they're trying to justify Pitt keeping the ball." And a number of the other calls mentioned... It wasn't just "poor officiating" but rather multiple incorrect calls, the vast majority of which seemed to benefit Pitt. I remember thinking, if it was at Ohio State or Michigan, you'd see "home cooking" for the Buckeyes or Wolverines, if it's at Penn State, you see "away cooking" for the away team. SMH.

I did also have in the back of my mind the thought that it all was rather funny in that for years so many people on this board have wanted PSU to leave the B1G for the ACC, presumably under the impression that we'd be "treated better." So much for that fantasy.

I said the same thing in the stands. We don't even get a call in our own building. This was one of the worst and biased reffing jobs in quite a while. I thought we were playing Michigan the way the calls went? Added time at the end too, just like UM game.
Was traveling home, what did CJF say about the officiating?

 

[LionDeNittany]

https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e0e72cf-e11a-46d1-a37f-962c435c5183

Go to the 2:04:30 Mark of the video... and watch it through about the 2:05:40 mark



This is the fumble by Maurice Ffrench.

Jan Johnson of PSU (#36) recovers the ball.

You can hear the umpire calling out that #36 has the ball (the Umpire is down on the ground in the scrum)
You can also see him - when Mustipher is basically asking "Do we have it?", and he nods to him, and Mustipher starts "mini-celebrating" (don't know what else to call it).

Even after Johnson gets up from the pile.... he is saying something like "You said it was our ball".

But - somehow - the Ref says that Pitt retains possession.


That was one of the most bewildering calls I've seen in a while (not because the end result was so blatantly bad (though it was, clearly, wrong)….. but because the Umpire clearly was saying it was "36 white's" ball. Yes, even though PSU has white pants and numbers - whereas Pitt has white jerseys….. but obviously he is referring to Johnson, #36)


Not sure if this was part of what CJF was so upset about wrt the officials.... but it was weird.

The refs had a massive issue controlling the players on the field.

Without watching I am guessing it took them a solid minute to get to the bottom of the pile with multiple players leaving then coming back to fight for the ball.

LdN

 

[BeaverLion]

Why is it every time we play bad, it’s the officials?

 

[seminnylion]

To me the biggest miss was the obvious helmet to helmet by Ford on Clifford right in front of a zebra

 

[84Lion]

But we’re a Big 10 team playing against an ACC team...it might be different if we were an ACC team and the ACC was desperately trying to get another team with a pulse outside of Clemson.

Well, assuming there might be some shred of hope that the ACC might really welcome PSU to leave the B1G and join the ACC somewhere down the road, that kind of officiating seems to me a strange way to "show the love."

With that said, I don't think there's any question that today's CFB world has the conference reps giving deference to the highly ranked teams in the conference, when there is a questionable call. Yesterday's game was pretty much an officiating screw job on PSU to help Pitt - it wasn't just on "close" calls. I forgot about the time added at the end too - that was another Michiganesque screw job.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

The second PI on Reid was really bad. I’ve watched it back multiple times and Reid never laid his hands on him. The WR clearly loses his footing and falls down.

On a side note - can anyone provide details into the targeting procedures? If it isn’t called on the field, can it be reviewed after the play? There were clearly two instances that should have been looked at. Fowler commented both times that Pitt escaped possible targeting fouls.

 

[djr4rebs]

I have to go back an rewatch to make sure, but they got a spot on 3rd down that gave them a 1st down. It looked short by at least a yard.

It was on their first touchdown drive if I'm not mistaken. Think they needed to get to the 21 or 22 yard line, the ball was clearly short by a yard, but the signalled first down and moved the sticks.

 

[PSUNATTY2020]

https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e0e72cf-e11a-46d1-a37f-962c435c5183

Go to the 2:04:30 Mark of the video... and watch it through about the 2:05:40 mark

Jan Johnson got the ball wrestled away. Is he good at anything? Not really.



This is the fumble by Maurice Ffrench.

Jan Johnson of PSU (#36) recovers the ball.

You can hear the umpire calling out that #36 has the ball (the Umpire is down on the ground in the scrum)
You can also see him - when Mustipher is basically asking "Do we have it?", and he nods to him, and Mustipher starts "mini-celebrating" (don't know what else to call it).

Even after Johnson gets up from the pile.... he is saying something like "You said it was our ball".

But - somehow - the Ref says that Pitt retains possession.


That was one of the most bewildering calls I've seen in a while (not because the end result was so blatantly bad (though it was, clearly, wrong)….. but because the Umpire clearly was saying it was "36 white's" ball. Yes, even though PSU has white pants and numbers - whereas Pitt has white jerseys….. but obviously he is referring to Johnson, #36)


Not sure if this was part of what CJF was so upset about wrt the officials.... but it was weird.

 

[Thomas1945]

The players were aware that the refs were not controlling things. I never saw fumble pile ups take so long to sort out. It’s like the players were saying F off to the zebras. Plus when order is lacking players are more apt to take a cheap shot, because they don’t fear getting penalized.

 

[GreatBasinNit]

At the game yesterday and I blew a gasket after the kick catch interference replay. Not sure if we recovered that one too. Reid has two terrible PI calls go against him. They missed at least one horrible PI against Hippenhammer (why is he on the field??). Then of course the fumble you mention, and worst of all; how does a team with no time outs stop the clock indefinitely when tackled in bounds??

Refs are human but this is their job. It can’t be this bad. Worst since OSU 14. I wonder if we get two of the turn overs if we would have covered.

The refs missed at least one big call on PSU. On Pitt’s final drive Castro-Fields had an obvious face mask on the 4th down conversion.

 

[step.eng69]

Was traveling home, what did CJF say about the officiating

Listened to Jones, Ham, James discussing the he on the way home. James said a few times ...
"If I say something that's not correct about the officiating in the game, I'll be fined."
I asked my wife, what the hell is he talking about?
Anyone understand what James is saying. I'm assuming he can't critize to game refs.

 

[LionHoya]

I have to go back an rewatch to make sure, but they got a spot on 3rd down that gave them a 1st down. It looked short by at least a yard.

Not sure if it’s the same play, but there was a third down where the receiver dove back for a ball and landed at least a yard short of the first, somewhere around Pitt’s 20 I thought great, fourth down, and then magically it was a first.

 

[doctornick]

I have to go back an rewatch to make sure, but they got a spot on 3rd down that gave them a 1st down. It looked short by at least a yard.

Not sure if it’s the same play, but there was a third down where the receiver dove back for a ball and landed at least a yard short of the first, somewhere around Pitt’s 20 I thought great, fourth down, and then magically it was a first.

If you guys are talking about the first play of the 2nd quarter (they just changed directions on the field), then it was actually a mistake on the TV broadcast. I saw what you are talking about - receivers was clearly short of the yellow line on the TV - but it was because the line was at the wrong spot. They put the yellow line at 10 yards from the line of scrimmage (around the 21 or so) when it was a 3rd and 6 and so the first down line should have been around the 17. The receiver got it.

If you rewatch the game, look at the first down marker on the sideline and it is clear.

 

[83wuzme]

This was a poorly officiated game. There were a number of uncalled personal fouls. The lack of holding calls affected the game and made it a lot closer than it should have been.

 

[LionHoya]

If you guys are talking about the first play of the 2nd quarter (they just changed directions on the field), then it was actually a mistake on the TV broadcast. I saw what you are talking about - receivers was clearly short of the yellow line on the TV - but it was because the line was at the wrong spot. They put the yellow line at 10 yards from the line of scrimmage (around the 21 or so) when it was a 3rd and 6 and so the first down line should have been around the 17. The receiver got it.

If you rewatch the game, look at the first down marker on the sideline and it is clear.

I’m sure that’s it. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[lionville]

I couldn’t hear what was being said. If the refs were saying white has the ball, more reason to hold onto it. I was always taught, you don’t get out of the pile without the ball. When everyone is pulled off, you standup with the ball and hand it to the ref. He got up, it wasn’t in his hands. If he was holding the ball it would have more likely initiated a replay

On another note,did anyone else note the spotting of the ball? It was a 1 yard penalty vs Penn State on every play. A couple gave 1st downs to Pitt. There was also serious holding going uncalled vs Pitt That ACC crew was corrupt

Pitt continuously got a half to a full yard via the spot after plays while PSU lost a half yard on numerous spots.

 

[lein]

https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e0e72cf-e11a-46d1-a37f-962c435c5183

Go to the 2:04:30 Mark of the video... and watch it through about the 2:05:40 mark

Does that ref know his fellow ref with the helmet cam is staring at his crotch?