A look back to almost 5 years ago... OSU vs Miami
 

POV #1: YouTube - Ohio State-Miami: The "Pass Interference" Call

POV #2: YouTube - Ohio State vs Miami - Pass Interference? Replay + Analysis.

Rob's Special T's: Rob's Special T's ::. Your Custom Apparel Specialists
(I actually bought this poster.) :)

PS: I hope MTD, Sr. from the basketball side sees this. :)

It was a foul then and is a foul today and will be a foul until if and when the rules are changed. It was a great call and one that tooks balls of steel to make. Porter made it. Each of us can only hope we will answer the bell when our test comes, if it ever does.

From Notes: Months later, 'Canes interference call looks right - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com Live Scores, Standings, Stats

Notes: Months later, 'Canes interference call looks right
July 16, 2003
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer


Terry Porter was right.

Six and a half months after the most controversial call of the Bowl Championship Series era, the Big 12 field judge has been vindicated.

That's not going to please Miami players, fans and coaches who are still grinding their teeth over Porter's decision to signal pass interference against Miami defensive back Glenn Sharpe in the Fiesta Bowl.


Miami's Glenn Sharpe and Ohio State's Chris Gamble jump for the ball in the end zone.(Getty Images)
Earlier this year Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said game films had been reviewed and that, in fact, Porter had made the right call. The Big Ten supervisor of officials, who is used by the NCAA to assign officials for bowl games, concurred this week.

The problem is, few people saw the actual infraction. All the replays focused on Sharpe jumping for a ball in the end zone intended for Ohio State receiver Chris Gamble.

The penalty occurred on fourth-and-3 from the Miami 5 in the first overtime of Ohio State's 31-24 victory. At the line of scrimmage, Sharpe tried to "jam" Gamble and impeded his progress. When the official who apparently had the call in the end zone didn't make one, Porter came rushing from the back of the end zone to throw the flag four or five seconds after the play had ended.

"The timing of the flag might have looked not good," said Dave Parry, the Big Ten supervisor of officials, who works with the NCAA. "Terry was probably trying to be very thorough. He signaled a push for a defensive pass interference, then a signal for holding. There is a time lapse there. When the camera showed it they didn't see the line of scrimmage. They saw the downfield play about 7 or 8 yards."

Porter has been the subject of Miami fans' message board rants for months since the call. Miami's stance seems to be that while the call might have been right, it was inexcusable that Porter waited those pregnant seconds before throwing the flag after running from the back of the end zone.

"I replayed it in my mind," Porter said after the game. "I wanted to make double-sure that it was the right call."

Without saying it was the case, Parry said this week there could have been a "small, small little downgrade" in Porter's evaluation for shoddy mechanics in waiting so long to make the call. Crews are assigned to the national championship game on a rotating basis. The crews are "all-stars" made up of the best official at each position in that conference.

A Big 12 crew was supposed to do the 2002 Rose Bowl but was delayed a year when Nebraska made the game. That allowed Porter and his mates a chance at the Fiesta Bowl. What bothered Porter and the Big 12 was a report that two letters of apology had been sent to conference schools after games Porter worked.

The Big 12 was upset by the report. Porter, a Stillwater, Okla., food broker, denied that was the case.

"I ain't talking about (the call)," Porter said brusquely this week when reached by phone. "You can call the Big 12 office."

Big 12 supervisor of officials Tim Millis, an NFL official himself, said this year that Porter would be NFL material if he were younger. Porter is in his mid-50s. Millis was out of the office this week and could not be reached.

"I talked to Terry about it," Parry said. "His view was the snuggle (contact) was right at the line of scrimmage. (Sharpe) took (Gamble's) shoulder away from him as he tried to get away. That's why he went with holding."

Jay Hansen, sports editor of the Mansfield (Ohio) News-Journal, was one of the few lay persons with a closeup look at the play. While everyone else was concentrating on the two players in the end zone, Hansen was watching the line of scrimmage from the floor of the Fiesta Bowl.

"From what I saw there was definitely contact," said Hansen, who had come down from the press box and was on the sideline near the end zone when the call was made.

"I thought it should have been holding. Gamble caught the defensive back on his heels. I was concentrating on Gamble. Definitely, in my opinion, there was a penalty on the play."

The view from South Florida is that the call cost the Hurricanes the national championship. Not even close. During that drive and before the call, Miami's vaunted defense allowed Ohio State to convert a fourth-and-14. A stop there would have won Miami its second consecutive national championship.

Even after the controversial call, it took the Buckeyes two plays to score from the Miami 1 in the first overtime to tie it. Then, after trailing 31-24 in the second overtime, Miami had four cracks at the tying (or eventual winning) score from the Ohio State 2.

On fourth down, Ken Dorsey crumbled in the face of a withering Ohio State rush and the upset was achieved. Porter was a stand-up guy, explaining the call after the game.

In retrospect, Miami, an 11-point favorite, had plenty of chances to put the game away and in the end was outplayed by an Ohio State team that was better prepared. And whether it takes five seconds or five minutes, they teach officials, above all, to get the call right. Porter did.

bowling balls

For the prospective football official reading here, why is this pass interference?

The DB was holding the receiver prior to ball being thrown and continued while the ball was in the air. That act prohibited the receiver from having a reasonable chance to catch the ball. That is DPI

Every once in awhile you'll see a play where illegal contact occurs before the ball is released by the passer, and this illegal contact continues until after the ball is released by the passer. I think this play is one of those times: the holding or Illegal Contact on A Receiver flag is upgraded to Pass Interference.

When you watch the YouTube videos its funny to see how a non-officil judges keys that most officials don't think much about. The first point them make is that a flag thrown 2-3 seconds after the play is less valid than one thrown before the ball hits the ground. Next, they are upset that the LJ doesn't have a flag when the FJ does. Little to they realize that is the FJ's key, not the LJ.

While my threshold for PI is a bit higher than the action in this play, I don't fault the official for the flag and would have thought really hard before holding onto my flag for this play.

This is exactly why I posted the links.

FWIW, I think that the call was a great call - and hence why I purchased the poster!

(This was almost six years ago, no? It was my understanding there would be no math.)

In my experience, we've been taught that an extra second to make sure before you throw the flag or signal the touchdown isn't a deal-breaker. Make sure, and if that takes an extra second, so be it.

So when they say there "might" have been a bit of a downgrade for a flag 2 or 3 seconds late, that tells me that's the outside edge of that envelope, at least in the court of public opinion.

I wasn't even an official at that stage of life (I didn't start doing hoops until the winter of 2003-2004 and didn't do football until the fall of 2004) and, as fans will, I thought, "Man, that's a late-*** flag."

Now I know that's not a really late flag, but just a tad tardy and that there's nothing wrong with that. And that the call was correct. So thanks for that. That's useful.

Yes, it was 6 years ago. I was wondering when someone would catch that. :)

At that time, I was still about 3 years from getting into the Canadian version of NCAA (so still have *lots* to learn) and when I saw that flag, I thought, "bad flag" like the announcer.

It took only one replay to see that the flag was correct.

Even if it was just for a fleeting moment it takes a strong individual to admit to something like this. : > )

Horrible, awful, terrible call. I don't have enough adjectives to describe how bad that call was. When was he holding him while the ball was in the air? There was ZERO contact when the ball was in the air before it was touched. NONE. Go back and watch the first video. They zoom in and slow it down once the ball is released. If Porter wanted to throw the flag because of the "holding" at the line of scrimmage, why didn't he throw his flag then? Why did he wait 3 full seconds after the play was over (And probably 5+ after the "holding" at the line) before he threw the flag?

That was a crap call that stole a national championship. I don't referee football, just basketball, but at least I can admit it when I think a basketball official on TV has kicked a call. Why can't football officials do the same?

We do point out mistakes WHEN THEY ARE MADE and if you spent any degree of time on our boards you would realize that. In fact, we do so so much that Referee magazine has even blasted us in a recent issue.

This is not a matter of ignoring a bad call, this is a matter of supporting a good call.

Do football for a year. Then we'll talk.

First, to even suggest that football officials are reluctant to criticize other football officials, suggests you don't read a lot of football official forums and are apparently prone to offering opinions where you have no relevant standing.

Second, as an official you should realize and understand the process ANY official, working any sport, should go through before assessing any foul or penalty situation and you lack credible experience to offer a crtique about a process you know nothing about.

Third, any "official" who thinks he is smart enough to criticize an official working a different sport, about the fine line application of a rule in a National Championship level game is either an egomaniac or a complete fool. There is no 3rd choice.

I won't be as sugary as the few above me:

You're wrong. It was a great call.

But, need I say more?

LOL! What complete and total http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...es/bs_sign.gif. You're an embarassment to all basketball officials to make such statements.

Look at the photo below and tell me again "There was ZERO contact when the ball was in the air."

http://www.robsts.com/shop/Poster.jpg

Now let's see if you have the balls to admit that you're wrong!

You didn't even have to tell us you don't officiate football. I can tell by your lack of knowledge regarding the the time it took for the flag to be thrown. You see, in football we don't throw our flag immediately upon seeing a live ball foul. We have guidelines for calling fouls such as advantage versus disadvantage. In this play there was holding, Porter waited to see if the defender gained an obvious advantage and it turned out the hold did put the receiver at a disadvantage so then the flag is thrown. Football officiating is totally different that what you do in basketball. In basketball, you cannot wait to see the whole play, and then decide to call a foul as the ball would probably be on the other end of the court. Football is not like that. We can and will wait a couple of seconds. We have plenty of time to see the play and go through the process of determining if what we saw fits the criteria of the rules and the philosophies under which we are there to enforce. Waiting that extra couple of seconds if very important in making sure we have foul. This is probably why we see a lot of incorrect foul calls in basketball because the official has to be quick. Imagine if you had a couple of seconds to think about what you saw. You'd probably get a lot more right like Porter did in his football game.

Yup.

Hmmmm...I don't do football either, but I thought it was correct as soon as I saw the replay back then. I wondered why it was a "late flag," but later, I learned from a local football official that there's no such thing as a late flag.

Say what you want about me, I don't really care. I'll always stand by what I said. It was a kicked call. The funny thing after watching those videos again is that Gamble didn't get his head around in time to even make the catch and it hit him right between the hands and he dropped it. No wonder he plays defensive back and not receiver in the NFL.

The "Luckeyes" stole a national championship.

Holding? Where? If there was holding, why didn't they call holding?

So you can only be incorrect ("A lot" by the way) if you make calls quickly? Maybe basketball officials are just more talented since they can make split-second decisions and you guys sit around and wait to call something.

How can you even tell there is pass interference? Because this picture tells you there is? You can't see Sharpe's right hand, and the videos of this play don't show Gamble being contacted while the ball is in flight. So no, I won't admit I'm wrong.

Oh well, we tried to help you there sparky.

We've all seen the play so we know there's contact. You say that there was no contact while the ball was in the air. Yet the photo confirms that the contact occurs while the ball is in the air.

It's just as I thought. You are man enough to admit when you're wrong. You're just a fanboy.

Go away fanboy. This site is for officials.

Holding while the ball is in the air is pass interference, numbnuts.

zm

As an official of any sport you should have learned by now that the only ones who understand all of what and why they call things are the guys working the games. That would be you in basketball since you call basketball. But that wouldn't be you in football because you don't call it. You sound like a thousand moronic fans that have said the same exact, uninformed and dis-informed things you've said on this board. And no doubt you've never:

1) Read an NCAA or conference philosophy statement. For that matter it's not likely you even knew they existed before now.
2) Read weekly bulletins.
2) Been to a football clinic. Let alone several.
3) Sat in on local college rules study groups where things like you've been told here are discussed regularly.
4) Been graded regularly and often for years for working football games.
5) Been dinged by a supervisor for mistakes made while calling football.
6) Listened in while others got dinged by a supervisor for mistakes they made.
7) Been praised by a supervisor for doing the occasional great job.

I'll bet your quite the deal to work with in basketball. And just to make your day were you aware that this call is now officially listed as one of the best calls ever made.

NASO Press Releases

If you don't like it then I suggest you print off a copy of the press release and wipe your snotty nose with it.

That's like the fox guarding the hen house now isn't it? Since Referee Magazine said so, it must be right. What are they going to do, come out and say Porter is a moron and that he blew it?

Now I know why NFL and college football officials are so incompetent: They were once high school football officials. (Can anyone say OU/Oregon last year? Are they going to tell us that was a great call too?)

REPLY: No...and if you actually read REFEREE Magazine, you would have seen their discussions about that OU-OSU call. They dissected why it was wrong, and what the contributing factors were to making that incorrect call and review. So it seems the fox did a pretty good job on that one, don't you think?

One other criticism of this crew that needs to be squashed: Many have asked why, if this foul was so blatant, didn't the line judge (L) standing right next to it, throw his flag. Simple answer is that he wasn't--and shouldn't have been--looking at it. Since the strength of the formation was to the far side (OSU had trips over there), the back judge was keying his receiver on that side. That left Porter, the field judge, keying the WR on the near side and the L keying on the TE split about two yards from the tackle. In the still photo, you can see the L looking past the WR and watching the TE-defender interaction just below the second "M" in the Miami endzone logo. Porter is out of the frame, but was obviously watching Gamble and Sharpe. Both were looking precisely where they were supposed to be looking.

The amazing thing about all of the fans who spout off about the perceived incompetence of college or professional officials is that if put into that same position themselves, they would no doubt need a clean pair of knickers after about two minutes of the first quarter...or sooner.

If you think you could do a better job then jump right up. I'd bet a game check that you couldn't make it past the 1st Qtr. You'd be running off the field after all the abuse you'd get for the bad calls you'd make. Take the challenge. Until then, you have no voice in this issue because you are not trained in the game of football and have no clue whatsoever about the rules. You've proven that already.

If you feel you can do better, please sign up! Basketball and football seasons don't overlap much if at all and we can definitely use more officials in the ranks.

How would you feel about a football official coming into the basketball forum and making the same comments you did about basketball officials? A little respect for your fellow officials would be appreciated.

Well, there was a baseball guy (not me) here earlier this season. That went well....:o

And zm, you can tell it's PI because you can see the ball in flight and the CB holding on to the WR. You likely can't see his other hand because it's also grabbing on. Do what I do and just read what they're saying about rules on these forums. You might learn something about sports you don't work.

So now that it's been established you're a fanboy, tell us: Canes fan? Or Michigan, perhaps?