Boise State 33, Virginia Tech 30: In Which I Break My Own Rule About Not Complaining About Officiating

I’m a bronco fan and I have to agree with you that the call was very suspicious. It appeared to me that Pettis looked in-bounds to the VT defense and he was appropriately tackled by Taylor.

It is an unfortunate thing for that call to have been made.

I want to believe that even without that call we would have still come up with 7 points, but who can ever know.

All I can say is that it was a heck of a game from both sides, and I salute you guys and your team.

Pettis didn’t know he was out of bounds and tried to advance the ball and Taylor did his job by trying to stop him. I don’t think either player heard the whistle, if there was one. The officials even conferenced after the play before announcing the late hit penalty.

The whistle blew at roughly the same time that Taylor hit Pettis (it not just a little bit before). I think the referees really need to re-evaluate what they can expect of a player with regards to stopping when the whistle blows. The late hit personal foul should only be used when it is obvious that the player has a chance to stop the hit. Taylor was in mid-hit motion when the whistle blew. What is he supposed to do? Defy the laws of physics to stop moving? Just because the whistle blows doesn’t mean the players can stop right away.

Where the VT dude wrapped up AP was clearly out of bounds. I don’t think the late hit call is about AP stepping out of bounds a couple yards up the field. I think it’s because where AP was tackled was out of bounds.

Now, it wasn’t intentional. The VT guy’s momentum carried himself out of bounds. As his momentum was carrying him out, AP was moving to the left (ie, out of bounds). It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but where the tackle occurred was out of bounds. AP landed in the grass after getting tackled. That’s why there was a late hit called.

Doesn’t get called every time, but that will get called enough not to make it controversial – unless it happens on a scoring drive in a close game.

I don’t want to place blame on the refs for losing the game. After all, they didn’t cause VT to give up 17 points or run a poor drive at the end of the game. But that call was borderline at best and should not be called in that situation. Taylor was trying to make the tackle (and keep the clock from stopping/stop potential touchdown), not delivering a late hit. That’s extra yardage that BSU really did not need. Do they score without the Taylor penalty? Yes, I bet, but that’s only because I have 0 confidence in any of my teams protecting a lead. But still, horrible call.

The officiating was spotty the entire night. A couple of pass interference calls against Boise State were nothing short of ridiculous, and there were two that should have been called against Virginia Tech that were not. At the same time, the block in the back on VT’s final punt should not have been waved off. That looked like a clear cut penalty to me. All in all, it is very difficult to complain about the officiating in this game as bad calls and bad no-calls were prominent against both teams. When Austin Pettis was hit out of bounds it ended up being a 13 yard penalty, as it was half the distance to the goal. The way Kellen Moore was focused and in the zone on that drive it would not have mattered whether or not the penalty on Bruce Taylor was enforced. As a viewer by television or if you were there at the stadium, it is impossible to tell what the officials saw. They were there on the field right in front of the action, a much better view than any spectator/viewer has. The officials determined that Pettis was out of bounds and that Taylor had sufficient time to see that. Whether the whistle was heard or not or when it was blown, the refs felt that Taylor had time to see where Pettis was and make a decision, and he decided to finish the hit. It resulted in a penalty and that is that. If our offensive coordinator had not chosen the most idiotic plays for Tyrod Taylor and the offense to run the possession before then we would not even be having this conversation. Let’s focus on the things we can control and let the refs officiate. Tell whoever is calling the plays that running the ball on the third down keeps the clock running and an incompletion stops it. Blame him for the loss, not the referees.

No not really there were bad calls and missed calls going both ways, hell I lost my voice yelling at them all night calling them BCS homers.
Fact is on the late hit call the official blew his whistle loudly which can be herd long before the hit.

This thread however is unbecoming of the V-Tech fans I meet before during and after the game you have harmed your reputation.
One should always follow their own advice.

I am actually really surprised as well at how civilized this has all been from both sides. Most comment sections turn into either racial remarks or personal attacks on someone who may disagree with a point of view. I think that if Boise State had lost, their fans would have been absolutely devastated, while the team would have been fine a day or two after. Fans always take things harder than they should. As far as BSU fans coming back down to earth, they would have gone lower than that! Intergalactic_bronco (love the name, by the way); that is an interesting point about what the refs look for when they decide whether to call a block in the back or not. Again from my bad view of what was going on from my couch, it sure looked like a block in the back. But that’s why the referees are there and that’s why they get paid. They see things a lot better than we do.

@ VT’s speed and agressiveness. We were lucky to come out of there with a “W.” I sincerely hope VT continues to compete the same way it did against Boise State. And I’m not just saying that because it will help our BSC bid.