Thursday: Targeting, officiating, and Texas Longhorns linebackers
DeMarvion Overshown reportedly is out for the first half of the Texas Tech game, his appeal to the Big 12 and NCAA over targeting rejected.
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I don’t know whether to go off on the officials, the rules or who. I also don’t know that the Texas Longhorns need to be without their most disruptive defensive player for a half on the first road game of the year.
It’s a double whammy. It was a crap call then, and it’s a crap call now.
The poor call gave UTSA new life on offense last Saturday, and it gives Texas Tech additional leeway this Saturday.
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I understand losing players to injuries. I even understand losing them to off-field suspensions of their own doing.
But to lose players to poor judgement calls by officials is absurd.
This new rule of appeal was put in place exactly so bad calls on the field like Oversbown’s wouldn’t be overly punitive.
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Yet here we are.
Overshown’s out for a half. And it’s ridiculous.
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So where do the Horns go from here?
Well, as far as football is concerned, we’ll likely see more of a base defense from Texas with Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey as a starter with both Jett Bush and David Gbenda seeing extended action in Overshown’s absence.
But as far as the football team’s relationship with league officials, I’m not sure what’s next.
Most will blow this off as a rare thing, as an official making a judgement call and the league standing behind him. But it’s getting to the point of more than just mere coincidence two weeks in a row.
Now, I don’t believe there’s some grand conspiracy to defraud Texas. But the amount of poor calls against the Horns are stacking up.
Something needs to be done about it and someone needs to be accountable for it.
The game should be decided by the players and coaches, not by the referees.
