[jimpiano]

Originally Posted by TXMike

From the Altoona Mirror.com:

Tough start for zebras

Referee Dave Witvoet and his crew endured their share of embarrassing moments.

Following a special teams penalty on the Nittany Lions’ Josh Hull in the first quarter, Witvoet stepped off the 10 yards — against Michigan State.

The crew corrected that mistake and put the ball at the PSU 16, where it belonged.

On the same possession, the crew credited Derrick Williams with a third-down catch that replays ruled was a trap. The call was overturned, but Witvoet told the crowd, and an ABC TV audience, that it was third down.

Penn State had already lined up for a 53-yard field goal, and after Michigan State’s coaching staff protested, Witvoet still called it third down. After a conference, the officials changed it to fourth down.

The clock operator wasn’t too swift, either. After a punt was downed with 10:40 left in the first half, the clock ticked away to 10:19. Officials then called for it to be reset to 10:29.

Witvoet (pronounced vit-vote) is the same referee that blared “timeout, Purdue!” at this year’s Penn State-Indiana game.

Late in the game, he signaled a timeout for Penn State and called out “timeout, Michigan State,” cracking up the press box.

Witvoet also was the lead referee in Penn State’s 2002 game at Michigan, a 27-24 overtime loss after which Penn State called for a Big Ten investigation of assignments and officials when a couple of controversial calls went against the Nittany Lions.

His crew has also officiated numerous key big ten games and the Rose Bowl between USC and Texas.