[bisonlj]

Hill from UW was about to score on a running play when he was stripped at the 3 yard line. The ball goes into the end zone where there is a mad scramble. As the officials get in to determine who has the ball, another scrum starts about 15 feet away. Apparently the ball had squirted out and was recovered by Wisconsin. The officials huddled and the R reported it was a touchdown.

They then announce the play was being reviewed. That's when Mussberger went into "stupid" mode. At first he was saying he didn't see how the review could determine if someone had possession under the first pile. When they showed one of the replays I noticed the covering official was killing the clock and it appeared his whistle was in his mouth. There was no sound so I couldn't tell if there was an IW but I knew that's what the review was probably about.

Finally, the announcers noticed the official as well and then did a reply with sound. You could clearly hear the whistle. Then Mussberger couldn't understand why they could review it because he thought plays that were blown dead could not be reviewed. I knew he wasn't very knowledgeable about the rules but this is the worst I had seen.

When the referee announced there was an inadvertent whistle and UW chose to take the ball at the 1, Mussberger was again very confused. How could they spot the ball at the 1 when the official and the ball were in end zone when the whistle blew. He really needs an official sitting next to him! The R also announced the down would count and it was now 2nd down. The ball was snapped around the 20 so I knew they had to have reached the line to gain. When he was explaining the ruling to the UW coach, you see the coach was trying to tell him it was first down. He then went back to the head set to talk to the replay official.

The R then announced UW had reached the line to gain and it would be first down. They also marked the ball at the 3 instead of the 1 (not sure why because it looked like the ball came out at the 1). Mussberger was now really confused. Why did they pick the 3 and not the 2 or 4? Uhhh...maybe because they ruled the ball came out at the 3. Before I became an official I admit I had no idea how to handle inadvertent whistles, but these guys are the voice of the games at the highest level so they should have access to someone who knows the rules. They were very critical of the officials but I felt they did a great job handling the situation and ultimately got it exactly right thanks to the replay system.

Early in the 3rd quarter Mussberger shared he talked to someone at halftime and learned the options in an inadvertent whistle on a loose ball play and explained why UW took the choice they did. He also admitted the officials got it right. If they would have had someone in the truck or the booth that could have helped them in an unusual situation, they would not have looked like idiots and made the officials sound like they didn't know what they were doing.