Saturday's 24-21 loss by San Diego's State's football team at BYU was the third setback by an Aztecs athletics team that I know of that can be attributed directly to Mountain West Conference officials making something up out of nothing. Clinging to a 17-14 second-half lead, Cougar RB JJ DiLuigi was stripped of the ball while struggling forward in a pile. DE BJ Williams took the ball out and recovered it.
The problem was the officials called DiLuigi down. When coach Brady Hoke challenged the ruling, the video clearly showed the fumble. This wasn't a fan looking at it with his heart. Check the video highlights of the game, around the 1:47 mark. The announcers promptly said the ball belonged to SDSU. Several BYU fans have written saying the ball belonged to State. BYU went on to score the touchdown that clinched the victory, and the Aztecs' subsequent score was not enough to win the game.
Now, you can never say what might have happened if the Aztecs were given possession. They might have fumbled, gone three-and-out leading to a BYU score anyway. But you at least want to have the opportunity.
Needless to say, coupled with the non-call block in the back at Missouri, I'm sick of this kind of crap.
In 2004, Aztecs RB Michael Franklin was given the ball on a running play around his own 5-yard line with a small lead over Colorado State in the fourth quarter. When the play was over, he put the ball down and a Rams defender picked it up, and the officials gave the ball to CSU -- citing a rule that did not even exist. The Rams promptly scored and won the game.
Two seasons ago in men's basketball, the Aztecs were in position to tie or beat BYU in Provo at the buzzer when F Kyle Spain was physically assaulted under the basket, and there was no call, and the Cougars held on to win.
There are bad calls, like the Missouri game in football this year, but that was a judgment call that can be difficult for officials at the heat of the moment. I can live with those. Plus, it never should have happened after the coaches lost track of a freshman TE who should not have been on the field, costing the Aztecs a chance to maintain possession and run the clock out.
Then there are inexcusable calls, like in Saturday's BYU game and the other two described above.
Those other two ended up not costing San Diego State a bowl game or NCAA berth, but this year's call might be expensive.
Can you imagine if that call costs SDSU a bowl bid? Let's take it a step further and say that, with BYU struggling, the call costs the entire conference a bowl bid? Don't laugh, because right now the MWC has only three teams on track for a bowl berth and the Aztecs, who would have made it four with a win, are now questionable. The conference is guaranteed FIVE (5) bowl games.
Still, the Aztecs need only win three more games, and they have yet to play conference bottom-feeders New Mexico, Colorado State and UNLV -- the latter two at home. They match up well, also, with 23rd ranked Air Force and Wyoming. So they should get to 6-6, with a shot at 8-4. Still, this is a program that is early in the building stages and nowhere near "there," as was obvious through a lot of the game at BYU. Here's to hoping that the ludicrous video review doesn't send them into a tailspin.
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San Diego State Athletic Director Jim Sterk is new to the program and doesn't really understand the past history of the officiating injustices heaped upon his school.
If it was me -- since I do have the background -- I'm on the telephone with MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson this morning and telling him in no uncertain terms that the conference needs to be accountable for its officiating. I would demand that the league take immediate and tangible actions, such as:
1. Removing the replay officials from the BYU booth and replacing them with someone else.
2. The league should notify via official press release to all key media personnel, such as ESPN, major newspapers, key college football Web writers like Dennis Dodds of CBSSports.com, that its mistake is the only thing between SDSU and a 4-1 record, and the Missouri non-call possibly is all that keeps them from being 5-0. Even with those injustices, the Aztecs are six points from being undefeated.
3. If the Cougars do get hot and end up bowl eligible along with the Aztecs, SDSU is to be given priority over which bowl to attend (which may or may not matter), as long as the difference in their records is one game or less.
4. If the Aztecs fall short of bowl eligibility by one game, the MWC should pay SDSU the equivalent amount of the bowl payout.
Sterk's next call goes to the legal arm of the Cal State University system, because the program stands to be injured by the MWC not standing by its contractual obligation of fair officiating. Finally, he needs to get a committee together to study following BYU into independence. On the final two points, if nothing else, Thompson needs to know SDSU is serious this time.
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A history lesson, Chargers fans. In all four seasons under coach Norv Turner, the Bolts have been 2-3 after five games every year. Each time, they have recovered to make the playoffs, sometimes in sparkling fashion. That has given the fans some comfort, with the knowledge that the team is on a familiar path.
I'm here to destroy your comfort.
What has been mystifying about the three losses this season is they have all come against teams that no one has any respect for. Kansas City, Seattle and Oakland are 3-2, 2-2 and 2-3, respectively. It would be a real shock if any of those teams finish the season over .500.
If you're thinking history is just repeating itself in 2010, you got another thing coming. Last year, the three early losses were 31-26 to Baltimore, 38-28 at Pittsburgh and 34-23 at Denver. Those teams finished with records of 9-7, 9-7 and 8-8. Not the greatest of football teams, but they didn't suck.
It gets worse. In 2008, the setbacks were 26-24 to Carolina, 39-38 in the Ed Hochuli game in Denver and 17-10 at Miami. Those teams finished 12-4, 8-8 and 11-5
In 2007, the three early failures were 38-14 to regular-season undefeated New England, 31-24 to Green Bay and 30-16 to Kansas City. The Packers were 13-3, the Chiefs 4-12.
The conclusion, then, is that in 2010, the Chargers have lost to three bad teams, but in similar 2-3 starts in the three prior years, only one of the losses was to a bad team. Therefore, the past not predicting the future really holds true in this case.
The other outstanding common factor is the three losses this season have all come on the road. If the issue is the team's sudden inability to perform while traveling, keep in mind that the season ends with two straight road games -- back-to-back trips to Cincinnati and Denver.
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