Draegerman
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USC averted an upset at the hands of Ty Willingham's 'resurgent' Washington program today with a heapin' helpin' of assistance from the Rose Bowl stadium clock operator and another gathering of idiots they call a Pac-10 officiating crew these days.
Twice on the Huskies' final drive, which started at their own 20 with 1:13 left and 1 timeout, the home clock operator let about three extra seconds run off the clock after a first down. The second time, only two seconds remained, which, as it turned out, wasn't enough time for the Huskies to make their final snap for an attempt at the end zone from the USC 15.
USC can thank their home stadium clock operator for sealing USC's 26-20 win, with his (or her) very friendly trigger finger--very quick on the starts, very slow on the stops. When it came down to the final play, that was just enough.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262800030
Interesting that Pete Carroll was selective in his comments about it:
"The last play was a mess," Carroll said. "It was almost like a timeout for them. The clock was mishandled. They should move the sticks and immediately start the clock."
Well, he got one part right. Problem is, if they'd gotten it right, the clock would have stopped with 5 seconds left, not two, and Washington would have had plenty of time to spike the ball for a final shot at the end zone.
Referee Brian O'Cain said, "I wanted to make sure the officials had seen the clock when the play became dead and were comfortable with the time remaining on the clock, which was confirmed to be two seconds."
Unless you happened to see the play, or maybe check a replay, which they didn't. Not quite as egregious as the failures in the Oregon-Oklahoma contest, but still, the game should be decided by the players.
Pete Carroll needs to give a game ball to the clock operator, because that individual clearly brought it today, and the officiating crew didn't seem to be able or willing to do anything about it.
If there's anything right with the world, the Football Gods will exact their revenge on USC.
Twice on the Huskies' final drive, which started at their own 20 with 1:13 left and 1 timeout, the home clock operator let about three extra seconds run off the clock after a first down. The second time, only two seconds remained, which, as it turned out, wasn't enough time for the Huskies to make their final snap for an attempt at the end zone from the USC 15.
USC can thank their home stadium clock operator for sealing USC's 26-20 win, with his (or her) very friendly trigger finger--very quick on the starts, very slow on the stops. When it came down to the final play, that was just enough.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262800030
Interesting that Pete Carroll was selective in his comments about it:
"The last play was a mess," Carroll said. "It was almost like a timeout for them. The clock was mishandled. They should move the sticks and immediately start the clock."
Well, he got one part right. Problem is, if they'd gotten it right, the clock would have stopped with 5 seconds left, not two, and Washington would have had plenty of time to spike the ball for a final shot at the end zone.
Referee Brian O'Cain said, "I wanted to make sure the officials had seen the clock when the play became dead and were comfortable with the time remaining on the clock, which was confirmed to be two seconds."
Unless you happened to see the play, or maybe check a replay, which they didn't. Not quite as egregious as the failures in the Oregon-Oklahoma contest, but still, the game should be decided by the players.
Pete Carroll needs to give a game ball to the clock operator, because that individual clearly brought it today, and the officiating crew didn't seem to be able or willing to do anything about it.
If there's anything right with the world, the Football Gods will exact their revenge on USC.
