Matt Rhule commends Big Ten for releasing statement on officiating mishap

Nebraska gave No. 4 Ohio State a Halloween scare on the road this past weekend in Columbus. The Week 9 meeting went down to the wire.

It also included a handful of questionable calls, some of which have been overturned after the fact.

The Big Ten issued a statement Monday on one particular officiating error that affected the Cornhuskers late in the second quarter of a 21-17 defeat.

“During Nebraska’s final drive of the first half, on second down with two yards to gain on the Ohio State 39-yard line, the ball was incorrectly spotted after a run by Cornhusker RB Emmett Johnson. The ball carrier crossed the 37-yard line and a first down should have been awarded to Nebraska. Replay should have stopped the game to review the spot since it involved the line-to-gain.”

In a one-score game that appeared to include additional incorrect spots and that featured an assortment of pass interference penalties, the error the statement addressed — albeit an important one that cost Nebraska valuable clock — wasn’t the most consequential of the bunch.

After all, the Huskers converted the subsequent 3rd-and-1 with a three-yard run from fellow running back Dante Dowdell.

But later that drive, on a 3rd-and-5 from the Ohio State 30-yard line, Nebraska wideout Isaiah Neyor was called for a controversial offensive pass interference on a deep shot from true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. That infraction pushed the Huskers back 15 yards. Nebraska gained nine back on the replayed third down, and kicker John Hohl drilled a 54-yard field goal before intermission to make it a 14-6 game.

Even though the Huskers grabbed three points before intermission, the incorrect spot threw an unnecessary curveball to Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, who was asked about the league releasing its statement Monday.

“I commend the league for putting out a statement,” Rhule said. “The worst thing I can do is get up here when I’m trying to get our team to turn forward to UCLA and be talking about the calls that went against us in a loss. I think that’s very forward thinking of Commissioner [Tony] Petitti and of Bill Carollo, who’s the head of officiating, and I think it’s what should be done. We all just want transparency — in everything.”

Rhule added: “You guys hear us talk about situational football. We’re trying to master the last drive of the half, the last drive of the game. When you have one timeout and you think it’s a spot — it just makes it hard to coach, right? So that was difficult. And they addressed it, and that’s really all I want.”

Nebraska eventually staked itself to a 17-14 advantage in the fourth quarter after Raiola orchestrated a nine-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, and after the Huskers cashed in a two-point conversion.

That said, Ohio State — despite all of its offensive struggles versus Nebraska Saturday — answered with a touchdown drive of its own, the game-winning kind.

The Buckeyes also had their own officiating qualms over the weekend, namely about a targeting call on linebacker Arvell Reese that has since been overturned as well.

According to an Ohio State spokesperson, the Buckeyes filed an appeal to the Big Ten after Reese was flagged and subsequently disqualified from the game with close to three minutes remaining in the final frame.

The Big Ten went to the NCAA Football Secretary Rules Editor, and, after review, Reese’s tackle and forced fumble on Nebraska wide receiver Jahmal Banks weren’t deemed as targeting, per an Ohio State spokesperson.

As a result, Reese won’t have to serve a first-half suspension at Penn State this weekend.

At the time, Nebraska received 19 yards for the reception Banks made and an additional 15 yards because of the targeting penalty, which negated the fumble Reese forced and fellow Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles recovered. All of a sudden, the Huskers were at their own 46-yard line with a fresh set of downs, 3:14 remaining, one timeout left and a four-point deficit to erase.

The confirmation of the targeting penalty caused uproar in Ohio Stadium. Head coach Ryan Day was furious, boos rained down onto the field, as did bottles thrown into the end zone by Ohio State students.

Ohio State didn’t allow Nebraska to gain another yard, though.

Ultimately, on 3rd-and-19, Buckeyes defensive back Jordan Hancock picked off Raiola from a deep safety position, and Ohio State emerged victorious.

In addition to addressing the statement the Big Ten released about the incorrect spot, Rhule launched into his views on officiating in today’s college football. Although he emphasized that replay errors can’t keep happening, he expressed his respect and empathy for the officials, particularly when it comes to judgment calls.

“I will say this, I think one of the hardest jobs in the world right now is to be an official,” Rhule said. “I grew up in an era when I played college football, I stood next to [Penn State’s] Coach [Joe] Paterno, the officials went out there, they had their whistles, they threw their flags. There weren’t 52 camera angles because every game’s on national TV. They threw the flag, and you live with it.” 

Rhule noted how instant replay has evolved to the degree where so much can be reviewed within a game, often for the better. Still, it’s resulted in more demand on the referees on the field.

And now Rhule himself finds himself always calling games with the thought of what his next move will be if a play is overturned.

“So I appreciate the statement, but I do want to say, it must be really hard to be out there making those calls,” Rhule said. “And, you know, there was a really controversial OPI (offensive pass interference) in the Ohio State-Oregon game. And they called offensive pass interference. And so what ends up happening is, over the next couple of weeks, officials, there’s all these points of emphasis and all this stuff, and they’re talking about OPI, and they’re talking about OPI, and all of a sudden, we show up, and we get two OPIs, on the last drive of the half and on the last drive of the game.”

Rhule went on: “I don’t want any more apologies on Sunday, like it can’t happen against UCLA. It can’t happen against Iowa. You know, these things can’t happen moving forward. And so I’m very forward thinking. I appreciate Bill, I appreciate Tony, appreciate Troy (Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen), I appreciate everybody. But it can’t keep happening to us. You know, it needs to be fair. And that’s not about the guys making judgment calls. They got a tough, tough, tough job. Tell us what the rules are, and we’ll kind of go from there. So that’s my take.”