Horns Up! There Is No Big 12 Referee Conspiracy

After the “victory” the Texas Longhorns had over the Iowa State Cyclones last Thursday, Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads was not happy about how the game ended:

So after the controversial ending in the game, it brought up the old perceived adage in the Big 12:  The Big 12 officials are in Texas’s pocket so if the game is close, the Big 12 officials will make sure Texas wins.

Right?

Here is a fan video with “video evidence” that the Big 12 favors Texas and makes sure they win.

Let me be clear (in my Obama voice), there is no Big 12 referee conspiracy. Texas doesn’t pay off the referees and Texas performing bad doesn’t hurt the Big 12. After the last 4 years, you would think this conspiracy would have been debunked by now. Apparently not so let’s recap those plays.

2012 Oklahoma State and 2013 Iowa State:  These were both plays where the running backs (Joe Bergeron in 2012 and Johnathan Gray in 2013) ran into a pile of players. Then the referees blew the play dead and the opposing player came out of the pile with the ball. Then the play was reviewed and the play stood as called.

Big conspiracy right? Until you actually read the rules on video reviews. To overturn a call on the field, the 3 replay officials must have clear, indisputable video evidence and make that decision within a given time limit. They don’t have hours to dissect a play and have it down to the millisecond if the ball was out 1 millisecond before he was done. And there is no clear angle to tell if the running back was or wasn’t down. Because it is not indisputable, the call on the field must stand. They can’t THINK he fumbled the ball, they have to KNOW he fumbled the ball.  Two key distinctions.

2011 Texas A&M: The rule clearly states that any head to head contact would result in a 15 yard penalty. The Aggies defender lead with the crown of his helmet and hit Mike Davis in the helmet. That’s the rule regardless of intent. You can’t assume intent, you have to call the play as it is in any sport as an official. In hockey, if I tripped someone accidentally, it’s still a 2 minute penalty for tripping. I can plead my case but the penalty still stands. If officials have to determine intent, players will try to get away with anything.

Did Texas get lucky that the calls were made? Maybe. However, there is no conspiracy that ensure Texas will win close games. If Big 12 officials tried to make sure Texas wins every close game, why didn’t they try to call Michael Crabtree out when he made that catch in the 2008 Texas-Texas Tech game? I know he wasn’t out of bounds but if the Big 12 officials had to favor Texas, wouldn’t they have made that call because it would have favored Texas?

There is no conspiracy, it’s just a feeble attempt by opponents to justify their loss to another opponent, especially in a close game. It’s akin to the “Duke always gets a block/charge call in their favor.” Duke usually wins a lot of basketball games. So for their opponents to justify their loss, they have to come up with a reason. The officials are an easy target. Not that the talent is better with Duke, but that the officials had to ensure that they would win the game. It’s pathetic yet predictable.

I hope I debunked this conspiracy theory but if I know anything about conspiracies, the facts don’t matter.