Although Iowa made some crucial mistakes in the Outback Bowl today (i.e. blocked punt and fake punt), the officials seemed to have it in for them. To wit:
- On third down, the Gators’ drive stalls two yards short of a first down when an official calls them for “helmet to helmet contact.” Replays showed the call was wrong but they don’t review it. The drive is kept alive and eventually the Gators score a touchdown just before halftime.
- During a Hawkeye drive in the second half, an Iowa receiver is called for a face mask. Offensive face mask? Replays showed the receiver getting pulled down to the ground by his face mask by the defender. Both of the receiver’s arms are stretched out perpendicular from his side.
- On another drive during the second half, an Iowa receiver makes a great catch for a first down but is shoved out of bounds before his feet touch the ground. The play is ruled an incomplete pass and the drive dies.
- With less than two minutes left, Iowa scores a field goal to get the game within 7. Everybody is set for an onside kick, which is delivered perfectly. Iowa recovers but officials rule that one Iowa player was offsides. Replays show no one offside.
It hasn’t been a good year for the Big 10 in bowl games. Aside from the bizarre ending, I seem to recall that Michigan had two crucial calls incorrectly go against them, too. Let the conspiracy theories begin!