LINCOLN — It might not ease the sting still felt by Husker fans from Saturday's loss to Texas, but the national coordinator of College Football Officiating said Tuesday that the finish of the Big 12 championship game was handled properly.

David Parry said he discussed the matter Sunday with Walt Anderson, the coordinator of officials for the Big 12. Parry said “we had this game under a microscope'' because the CFO reviews championship games and bowl games very carefully.

“When we first initiated replay in '04, the bottom line was that when there is a situation or problem that is correctable, we can do it,'' Parry said. “This is the perfect example of the value of replay.''

Anderson was in the replay booth Saturday night when it was immediately decided that an incomplete pass by Colt McCoy would be reviewed to determine if the game clock should have stopped before hitting zero. After one second was restored, Hunter Lawrence kicked a 46-yard field goal to give Texas a 13-12 win.

Tuesday in New York, McCoy said he did not realize the rulebook states that the ball must hit something before the clock stops. McCoy said he thought it would stop on his throw out of bounds as soon as the ball passed the first-down marker.

“Had the ball gone another 5 or 6 yards before it hit something, the game would be over,'' Parry said. “But it did hit something with time on the clock, and the crew made the right adjustment.''

Both Parry and Bob Burda of the Big 12 said it was the proper interpretation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 6. It states that the replay official may correct “egregious errors,” including those involving the game clock, whether or not a play is reviewable.

“People have asked, ‘Why didn't you do this in the first quarter or second quarter?'” Parry said. “Those things have a tendency to balance out. About every time the whistle blows or a play is run, there is some kind of clock involved.

“As I said to a writer yesterday, when you get down to the final play or final few seconds, then that microscope really gets tight or tough, and it's imperative that you elevate to perfection on those type of things.''

McCoy said Tuesday that if he'd understood the rule properly, he wouldn't have floated a long and high pass out of bounds and cut it so close with the clock.

“It was close, you've got to admit that,” said McCoy, in New York as a finalist for the Campbell Trophy.

“It was probably closer than you wanted it to be.''

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

« Sports - Big Red Today

Share