Ohio State Is Doing Exactly What They Needed to Do

Well, I have been doing some thinking and I have come to the conclusion that I will never get over this loss.

I started searching for stuff on the web about Miami's team next year and found a BBS for Miami fans.

I know, I know - all biased right?

Take a look at this article that was written in a Richmond, Virginia paper:



After further review, Miami got the short end

BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Jan 08, 2003

Just so you don't think I'm being rash or leaping to conclusions here, I waited four days to write this column - one day for each second Terry Porter waited before tugging a piece of cloth from his pocket and tossing it to the sagebrush-country turf in Tempe, Ariz., last Friday night.

Believe me, I thought twice about what I was about to do. I went round and round in my mind over the sentence construction. I weighed one adjective against the other. I closed my eyes and contemplated the general concept of the column - just to make certain I saw the big picture the same way I saw it when I went to bed early Saturday morning.

I am now prepared to state my case with 100-percent conviction.

Miami's Hurricanes got hosed.

Please, Buckeye Nation, hear me out. This isn't a slap at Ohio State. The Buckeyes were terrific in the Fiesta Bowl. They were aggressive on defense, resilient, tough, creative, exceptional in the clutch.

They were everything you'd want in a national champion, in other words.

Everything except the legitimate winner.

This was a game the should've ended in the first overtime with Miami on top 24-17 and the ball bobbling free in the end zone after an incomplete OSU pass. The game instead proceeded to another play and then another overtime and, finally, a 31-24 Buckeyes win because Terry Porter made a crummy decision and then tried to justify it by saying he'd acted more like Solomon than Judge Roy Bean in extending Ohio State's season and chances against the Hurricanes.

Porter is an official of 20 years standing on the Division I level. I will not question his credentials. I do question his eyesight and judgment. What Porter saw was Miami defensive back Glenn Sharpe committing pass interference in the end zone. What Porter did was - after a four-second delay - throw his flag to signal a penalty. What happened next was Ohio State got another play, forced the second overtime, scored a touchdown, stiffed Miami and won.

Except Porter was dead wrong. Was there contact between Sharpe and Ohio State receiver Chris Gamble? Yeah, some - but not enough one way or the other to draw a flag from an official closer to the play. Did Sharpe climb over Gamble's back before the ball arrived in order to make the deflection? Not even close. Sharpe had as good a shot at the pass as Gamble. He knocked the ball away with his right hand, the ball hit the ground, Miami's kids began celebrating, Ohio State was done.

But just for four seconds.

That's how long it took Porter to make his call. "I replayed it in my mind," he said. "I wanted to make sure it was the right call."

Oh, really. And when he hit the instant-replay button, what did he see? The precise same vision he witnessed in real time? A fuzzily edited rendition? A entirely different version starring Vin Diesel as Glenn Sharpe and Mister Rogers as Chris Gamble, the poor wideout who's maimed just before the game-tying pass reaches his fingertips?

This did-I-see-what-I-think-I-saw? process is about as bogus as Rosemary Woods zapping Richard Nixon's tape recorder. If the penalty is obvious - and it darn well better be in that situation - then throw the flag. If it's not, keep the cloth in your pocket and go get a hot shower.

One argument some people have made to justify robbery is that the game shouldn't have come down to an official's ruling. They're right. Miami committed five turnovers. It didn't stop a fourth-and-14 pass that would've settled the issue four plays before Porter's flag flew. It couldn't respond to Ohio State's final TD with one of its own.

But that reasoning ignores the fact the game did come down to an official's call. No call, game's over, Miami wins. It took me fewer than four seconds to write that sentence. Didn't have to think it over either.



It is so damn refreshing to see at least one person who is NOT affiliated with Miami in any way speak the truth.

I was reading on that site that Mike Doss admitted to Dan Patrick or the Sporting News or somewhat that he felt that call was a bogus call!

I won't say anymore about it, but I still seethe over that play.

Here's the link:

 

Um guess again, duke. I'm sure you and RM95 remember this, but the play clock actually EXPIRED when Krenzel snapped the ball and attempted that pass to Gamble. So, it should have been a delay of game penalty on OSU. But yea, all that matters is that non-call that went for Miami

Also, I'm sure the 2 of you remember when Will Allen did a very classy move in doing a throat slashing gesture after he destroyed McGahee's knee. I thought that was a personal foul penalty and 15 yards? But Miami didn't get a first down, they had to kick a 54 yard field goal which was missed (instead of maybe even scoring a touchdown). Forget the Gamble play, Miami probably wins if this is called LIKE it should have been. Damn, I guess that blows this whole bull**** of Gamble being held out of the water now, doesn't it?

And for the record, I brought this thread back up to point out that a Richmond, VA writer mentioned that Miami got hosed. Let me see...Richmond, VA is ACC country and Va Tech land. I am sure that he would be a biased individual for Miami!

 

Agreed, but the one call that was really bad for Miami was one that had an absolute to it - don't make that call and the game is over. RM95 and you have argued that if there was a penalty called on Miami for holding Gamble when he caught that ball out of bounds, that OSU would have won. Not necessarily, because as I mentioned earlier, that play should have never counted because it was never gotten off in time and there is no guarantee that OSU could have run out of the clock (Miami could have forced them to punt with time left or there could have been a turnover).

You are misinterpreting here. Let me ask you a question: substitute Miami with Texas, okay. Now, do you think you would find a Norman, OK or Oklahoma City, OK sportswriter writing that Texas got hosed? If you can say yes with a straight face, then maybe there is a lot of love between OU and UT.

 

BTW - I am SURE that everyone will change their mind when they read this site, but I am posting it because it is good reading and who knows maybe you will read some things there that you weren't aware of (like the playclock expiring on Krenzel before he tried that pass to Gamble, the one that Gamble was held on but not called, or the throat slashing gesture done by Allen).

 

Well, if he is, he was a closet Miami fan until now, lol.