Northwestern Survives, 23-21
by KingJamesIV on Sep 5, 2010 12:47 AM EDT
in Vanderbilt Commodores Football
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PrintYou gotta call a spade a spade: The Big Ten officiating crew won that game for Northwestern. PERIOD.
Of course, that's not to say that the Commodores didn't do everything they could to torpedo any legitimate chance they had to win: missed PAT, multiple idiotic personal fouls, botched snaps on two-point conversion attempts, etc. However, despite all these miscues, the game was on the line with that 3rd down play late in the fourth quarter.
Northwestern QB Dan Persa's legs were the bane of the VU defense all night. Fitting, then, that it came on a running play. To quote the AP write-up:
Northwestern faced third-and-6 from its own 33 when Persa was hit a yard short of the first down marker by Vandy safety Jay Fullam. But officials flagged him for a high hit and a personal foul, allowing Northwestern to run out the clock even though it looked on replay as if Fullam simply put his shoulder into Persa's shoulder for the stop.
Instead of letting the players settle it out on the field with a 4th and 1, the Big Ten officiating crew took action to ensure Northwestern would escape what would certainly have been considered an embarrassing loss for the conference. Those officials weren't going to let the worst team in the SEC last season knock off a middle-tier Big Ten squad.
Vandy got screwed tonight. Tack on another one for Vandy Football, which has seen screw jobs from officiating crews from every BCS conference (the SEC especially). How can you expect conference-affiliated officiating crews to be unbiased when there are literally millions of dollars at stake? We can't have Vanderbilts threatening teams expected to bring in bowl money, now can we?
The worst part about the whole thing is that there's not a damn thing the NCAA cares to do about it. It's a disgrace.
More thoughts tomorrow. I thought the team played well. I was encouraged with the size of the crowd. We lost but we fought through some adversity. And we even covered, which was my baseline hope.
Pray for me when I watch the replay. My head might explode.
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Boo
Sorry, but we’re better than this. The late hit call on them – where they bounced off of Barden – was equally suspect. Also, it sure didn’t look like Norman made it in the end zone.
We lost because our kicking/conversion game is horrible, and Persa is better than Smith.
by Vandy Dan on Sep 5, 2010 9:29 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Is Persa that good or was the coverage that poor…he went 19-21 for Christ’s sake! He’s a Heisman candidate if he keeps that up! The soft zone was not the appropriate call in the second half. It allowed him to make plays with his legs and his arm. I’d have liked to see some more man thrown in, I don’t think we should have been scared by any of their receivers beating our DB’s deep.
Smith had an awful, AWFUL first quarter. Looked like the same lost little puppy from last year. But then he got comfortable and made some plays. 19-33 is about what we should expect. I thought the QB draws were poorly timed and in obvious situations; that is not a reflection on him but the play calling. His pick was an overthrow…but last year and in the first quarter he underthrew EVERYTHING! We now have tall receivers with Barden/Wimberly that can get up and get the tall balls and really fast receivers like Krause that can run underneath an overthrow. Give him some time, the last 3 quarters of QB play will win us some games, and possibly some SEC games. LSU barely beat a decimated UNC team that was missing skill on both sides of the ball. LSU at Vandy may be a good matchup for us.
The kicking and the 2 point plays were atrocious. Why do we have Stacey and Norman only NOT to use them on a 2 point conversion??? And Fowler better be perfect next week, or I am gonna find a Big 10 official to throw him at! He hits EITHER the PAT or FG and we win.
I like the passion in the stands and the anger at the officials…it’s football! Vany shoulda won this game going away, but considering the team should have been in shambles after the coaching shakeup and it looks significantly better than last years team already is a testament to the players and coaches. I hope the crowds continue to come out and support the team, and if it takes a few terrible calls to generate that passion and fervor, so be it.
by blockersave93 on Sep 5, 2010 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions
What does Fitzgerald think now?
From the Tennessean:
“It was a helmet-to-helmet hit,” Fitzgerald said. “We went over it last week with a representative from the Big Ten, and they do everything they can to take the helmet-to-helmet contact out, and it was the right call. It shows young people playing football right now that using your headgear or aiming for someone’s head is not the way to play this game.”
Do you think that someone will ask him to comment after seeing the film. Most of the time coaches will stay the hell out of a controversial call, but he dives right in. Apparently the Big 10 sees things differently than every other conference…you can’t even think about hitting someone in the head. Maybe Fitz and the Big 10 should go over what a CLEAN hit is…they can look at the replay of the great hit by Fullam.
So, is it ok to facemask Norman? Apparently you can’t get CLOSE to hitting a player in the head but you can try and pull it off a players shoulders! (non-call when the score was 0-0 would have put Vandy in the red zone)
Fantastic play by Fullam, he had to hit him high or else Persa gets to the marker. I hope that play doesn’t make him tentative, he made a game saving play…save the piss-poor officiating.
As a Gator and ’Dore alum, I am used to terrible SEC officials, but last night was a travesty!
Cry me a river.
Yes, this one call is the reason Vandy lost. Not their PAT and 2 point conversion follies, not turnovers or penalties, or offensive or defensive ineffectiveness. You know this because there’s no way Vanderbilt would fail to drive the length of the field with 1 minute to spare to kick a game-winning field goal. After all, it’s not like Fowler missed one earlier, is it?
It looks like a legal hit, though you wouldn’t be complaining vociferously if it happened at any other time of the game, or if it benefited Vanderbilt. Sorry about your damn luck: it happens. By the way, blaming the refs for a loss is a bitch move.
Actually, I was complaining about how it wasn’t called earlier in the game. An obvious facemask is a fifteen yarder too!
The officials sucked, sure Vandy lost it by there own mistakes, but a great play by Fullam ended the game because of the officials incompetence rather than extending Vandy’s chance to atone for their mistakes. That is a bitter pill to swallow. I’d rather have not had the call and had Smith throw a pick 6 on the ensuing play of the next drive or Fowler miss a chip-shot. That is the point…let the players win or lose the game.
by blockersave93 on Sep 5, 2010 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
For Clarity
Not sure if your comment was directed to blockersave93 or to my instant reaction.
If to me, I clearly mentioned the VU missed PAT, stupid (and deserved) personal foul penalties, the 2 botched 2PT conversions, etc. above and how the call didn’t exactly lose the game for us.
I graduated with a degree in mathematics. If the flag hadn’t been thrown, Persa goes out of bounds, with 4th and 1 and about a minute and a half on the clock (which isn’t running thanks to the fact that he went out of bounds). I’d assume Fitzgerald would decide to punt, seeing as the risk side of going for it outweighs the reward. At this moment in time, what would you say Northwestern’s win probability is? 70%? 90%? 50%? Suppose VU blocks the punt. Suppose there’s a botched NU snap to the punter or that the punter mishandles the ball. Suppose the punter shanks it out of bounds. Suppose Zac Stacy breaks it for a touchdown. Northwestern’s win probability I’d say is probably around 75-85% as of this moment. Of course that’s hardly a scientific estimate.
That bullshit flag made it 100%. I was very intentional in my wording. The flag didn’t lose the game for VU. But it ABSOLUTELY won the game for Northwestern. No other play took Northwestern’s win probability to 100%.
I don’t expect any NU fans to sympathize with my point of view or with other VU fans on this. We got hosed. It’s okay to admit it. You were probably going to win. We’re pissed we didn’t get our opportunity.
I honestly wish NU nothing but wins from here on out. I’m excited about the fact that we get to match up the next 3 seasons. I hope both schools decide to continue the rivalry into the future beyond this 4-year agreement.
Fair enough response.
What I strenuously object to is the idea that there’s some kind of conspiracy, that the Big Ten officials intentionally made that call to help Northwestern win/hurt Vanderbilt. That’s the vibe I get from this post and the other one. You’ve encountered difficulties with SEC refs before and bad calls: in those cases, would you say that the refs were consciously trying to help one team and hurt the other? I doubt that you would, and the notion that the Big Ten refs are actively helping Big Ten schools has no more power or credence.
(One point of correction: I’m not a NU fan. I am a crotchety Ohio State fan).
You make good points...
Obviously it wasn’t a vast conspiracy, and I obviously question Vandy’s ability to get into FG territory in a late game situation – it’s not a common occurrence under Larry Smith by any means. It sucks that the game essentially ended on the call, taking the game out of the hands of the players thanks to a bad call. Obviously it wasn’t the only factor in the loss, but the reaction here is understandable.
It sucks, it stinks, and it sucks. But that wasn’t the only thing that went wrong by any stretch. However, Vandy was showing a heart and talent that they didn’t show last year, and rather than get a chance to test that mettle, it was taken away by a shitty call that was flat-out wrong. Did it cost us the game? Not necessarily. Did it cost us the chance to see what this team was made of? Absolutely.
http://www.anchorofgold.com - For all 27 Vanderbilt fans out there.
by Train Island on Sep 5, 2010 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Anatomy lesson
"I thought [the call] was appropriate," Persa said. "He hit me in the head."
The head-bone is connected to the neck-bone…not the left shoulder-bone.
Obviously Persa has ACTUALLY been hit in the head a few too many times since he thinks his left clavicle emanates from his skull.
Looks like we have the seeds of a rivalry here.
You think you got screwed on a questionable call, and most NU fans think Fitz did everything possible to lose the game. The vast majority of the game was called nothing like NU’s typical offense. Every handoff to #39 up the middle was Fitz’s way of saying, “I really don’t want to score on this drive”. I hate to break it to you, but that was our cupcake, don’t give future opponents useful game film. The few drives where we went pass-first and no huddle, the offense tore down the field with little trouble.
by Batman42 on Sep 5, 2010 4:13 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
(shudder) Ghosts!
Sounds like the ghost of Bobby Johnson’s coaching career has decided Evanston is his kind of town.
Just to engage in a semantic debate, I wouldn’t say the call won the game for Northwestern unless it changed the NU W% from like < 30 to > 70. I’d say it finished off a win for Northwestern.
And I don’t think it’s a BT conspiracy or anything. I’m quite sure we’re hypersensitized to bad calls because we’ve gotten screwed several times by SEC refs, who like any refs have a prominent tendency to benefit the favorite.
Fun with Semantics!
I wouldn’t say the call won the game for Northwestern unless it changed the NU W% from like < 30 to > 70.
I’m not disagreeing with this at all.
Where would you have put the NU win probability at that moment, had the flag not been thrown? Too bad there’s not some arbitrary formula in football like there is in basketball!
You lost a close one to the best team in the Big Ten
Alright—perhaps not, but I believe I can speak for most NU faithful when I say that a) we hope you kick A$$ from here on out and make us look good, and B) that we greatly appreciate your southern hospitality and the friendliness that you displayed toward us this weekend (notwithstanding the fact that we had beer, urine, and other substances thrown at us by your tie-clad faithful on multiple occasions and that many of us were confronted to fight on a number of others). Perhaps a few bad apples spoiled the Vanderbilt pot for those of us who made the nearly 500-mile trip down hoping only for a good time and a good game—not to mention a Northwestern victory, which we happily achieved.
That said, the outcome was clear—a win for the better team. All it takes to win is to make one more play than one’s opponent, and NU did that yesterday (Dan Persa’s numbers: 19-21, 3 touchdowns to three different receivers, 80+ yards rushing). At the QB position alone, Vanderbilt was thoroughly outplayed. Credit where it is due—Vandy played valiantly, and I know that all of us in NU Nation will be rooting for you every weekend from here on out. However, to say that the officials won it for NU is a cliche and a cop-out. NU won and was the better team on this given Saturday, and no amount of beer cups thrown or obscenities hurled at purple jerseys is going to change that.
Go ’CATS and Go ’DORES!
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