BIG 12 COMMISSIONER FURIOUS OVER OFFICIATING
Coordinator of Officials, Walt Anderson apparent target
By Beevo Whorn, Director of Big 12 Media Relations
(Austin, TX) Dan Beebe is furious.
Really furious!
And the Big 12 Commissioner is apparently taking out his wrath on the conference’s Coordinator of Officials, Walt Anderson.
Following a hastily called meeting at Big 12 Conference heaadquarters on the University of Texas campus earlier today, Beebe called Anderson out publically over a bevy of questionable calls during Saturday night’s nationally televised conference showdown between 18th ranked Texas A & M and 9th rated Nebraska.
“When I sat down with Associate Commissioner DeLoss Dodds and Anderson prior to the start of the season, I made it abundantly clear how this was supposed to play out,” said Beebe.
In an obvious response to Nebraska’s impending departure to the Big 10 Conference, Beebe said, “Walt fully understood we were not going to allow Nebraska to ride off into the sunset with the Big 12 championship trophy in their saddle. But I also made it clear that whatever we did, it was to be done discretely and not in a way that could cast the conference in a negative light.”
What has Beebe so upset were a series of major penalties called against Nebraska, especially those during two Aggie scoring drives during the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s contest in College Station in full view of a national television audience.
“The call against that Osborne kid just didn’t have a good feel to it,” commented Beebe. “As much as I’ve wanted to suspend that hooligan over the past couple of weeks, I’d be the first to admit, that was a doggonne great play.”
The call, a roughing the passer penalty, against Nebraska defensive back Courtney Osborne negated a drive-ending sack and extended a Texas A & M scoring drive that resulted in the game winning field goal by Randy Bullock with just over 3 minutes remaining.
“The problem I have with that play is there are so many other, more discrete ways to affect the outcome of a game without doing it so blatantly in front of a national television audience late in a ball game,” he said. “These guys simply need to use their heads.”
Beebee also criticized conference officials for waving off a flag following a pass interference call on a Texas A & M defensive back who clearly grabbed a Nebraska player’s jersey on a critical Husker possession late in the game.
“I applaud the television announcers for trying to cover for us on that one,” he said, “but why create suspicion by making a stupid decision like that.”
A third call that brought out the commissioner’s ire was the double-penalty on Nebraska tight end Ben Cotton midway into the second quarter.
“That was clearly pathetic,” said the Commissioner. “A national television audience watches that A & M kid grab the Nebraska player’s private parts and then go after his back-side and the official throws a flag on the Nebraska kid when it looked to me like he was simply trying to get himself free. Then as if that wasn’t enough, the poor kid, who I understand is the son of one of the Nebraska coaches, tries to defend his manhood to the official and gets flagged a second time.”
“As I’ve said before, these things simply need to be more discrete.”
Today’s reprimand is not the first time Beebee has called Williams on the carpet this season. Williams was reprimanded a few weeks ago following Nebraska’s narrow 31-30 overtime win at Iowa State. At that time, Beebee criticized conference officials failure to throw flags that could have, in his words, “discretely affected the outcome of the game.”
“The officiating crew had been told that the best opportunities were in games where Nebraska was being challenged,” noted Beebee. “They clearly squandered a number of golden opportunities to keep Nebraska out of the championship game in a contest that certainly held less national interest than other games Nebraska will play in.”
Added the Commissioner, “A few strategically thrown flags at a few points in that ball game could have placed the conference in a much more favorable position down the stretch.”
According to Beebe, conference officials have one final opportunity to get things right and keep Nebraska from a shot at earning a trip to the Big 12 championship game in Dallas in early December.
And it is obvious, he doesn’t want to see his officials allow another opportunity to slip away!
“We’ve got a short week to get our officiating crew ready for the task at hand this Friday when Nebraska plays Colorado in Lincoln,” he said. “I certainly don’t have a whole lot of love for those Rocky Mountain high hippies from Boulder, but sometimes you have to pick your poison.”
Coordinator of Officials, Walt Anderson apparent target
By Beevo Whorn, Director of Big 12 Media Relations
(Austin, TX) Dan Beebe is furious.
Really furious!
And the Big 12 Commissioner is apparently taking out his wrath on the conference’s Coordinator of Officials, Walt Anderson.
Following a hastily called meeting at Big 12 Conference heaadquarters on the University of Texas campus earlier today, Beebe called Anderson out publically over a bevy of questionable calls during Saturday night’s nationally televised conference showdown between 18th ranked Texas A & M and 9th rated Nebraska.
“When I sat down with Associate Commissioner DeLoss Dodds and Anderson prior to the start of the season, I made it abundantly clear how this was supposed to play out,” said Beebe.
In an obvious response to Nebraska’s impending departure to the Big 10 Conference, Beebe said, “Walt fully understood we were not going to allow Nebraska to ride off into the sunset with the Big 12 championship trophy in their saddle. But I also made it clear that whatever we did, it was to be done discretely and not in a way that could cast the conference in a negative light.”
What has Beebe so upset were a series of major penalties called against Nebraska, especially those during two Aggie scoring drives during the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s contest in College Station in full view of a national television audience.
“The call against that Osborne kid just didn’t have a good feel to it,” commented Beebe. “As much as I’ve wanted to suspend that hooligan over the past couple of weeks, I’d be the first to admit, that was a doggonne great play.”
The call, a roughing the passer penalty, against Nebraska defensive back Courtney Osborne negated a drive-ending sack and extended a Texas A & M scoring drive that resulted in the game winning field goal by Randy Bullock with just over 3 minutes remaining.
“The problem I have with that play is there are so many other, more discrete ways to affect the outcome of a game without doing it so blatantly in front of a national television audience late in a ball game,” he said. “These guys simply need to use their heads.”
Beebee also criticized conference officials for waving off a flag following a pass interference call on a Texas A & M defensive back who clearly grabbed a Nebraska player’s jersey on a critical Husker possession late in the game.
“I applaud the television announcers for trying to cover for us on that one,” he said, “but why create suspicion by making a stupid decision like that.”
A third call that brought out the commissioner’s ire was the double-penalty on Nebraska tight end Ben Cotton midway into the second quarter.
“That was clearly pathetic,” said the Commissioner. “A national television audience watches that A & M kid grab the Nebraska player’s private parts and then go after his back-side and the official throws a flag on the Nebraska kid when it looked to me like he was simply trying to get himself free. Then as if that wasn’t enough, the poor kid, who I understand is the son of one of the Nebraska coaches, tries to defend his manhood to the official and gets flagged a second time.”
“As I’ve said before, these things simply need to be more discrete.”
Today’s reprimand is not the first time Beebee has called Williams on the carpet this season. Williams was reprimanded a few weeks ago following Nebraska’s narrow 31-30 overtime win at Iowa State. At that time, Beebee criticized conference officials failure to throw flags that could have, in his words, “discretely affected the outcome of the game.”
“The officiating crew had been told that the best opportunities were in games where Nebraska was being challenged,” noted Beebee. “They clearly squandered a number of golden opportunities to keep Nebraska out of the championship game in a contest that certainly held less national interest than other games Nebraska will play in.”
Added the Commissioner, “A few strategically thrown flags at a few points in that ball game could have placed the conference in a much more favorable position down the stretch.”
According to Beebe, conference officials have one final opportunity to get things right and keep Nebraska from a shot at earning a trip to the Big 12 championship game in Dallas in early December.
And it is obvious, he doesn’t want to see his officials allow another opportunity to slip away!
“We’ve got a short week to get our officiating crew ready for the task at hand this Friday when Nebraska plays Colorado in Lincoln,” he said. “I certainly don’t have a whole lot of love for those Rocky Mountain high hippies from Boulder, but sometimes you have to pick your poison.”
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