Ohio State Postgame Presser: Jim Harbaugh
[Bryan Fuller]
What’s your view of the last spot there before the touchdown?
“That it wasn’t a first down by that much.” [holds hands apart about eight inches]
So you agreed with the call, then?
“That it was not a first down. The officiating, I’m bitterly disappointed with the officiating today. That spot—the graphic display is the interference penalties. The one not called on us when Grant Perry clearly was being hooked before the ball got there, and the previous penalty called on Delano Hill, the ball’s uncatchable and by the receiver. So yeah, I’m bitterly disappointed in the officiating. Can’t make that any more clear.”
[Ed. A- The second Harbaugh used “bitterly” I knew that I’d heard that word spoken with the exact same inflection before. I realized about the time we were leaving the stadium that Harbaugh said it the way Bo did in the archival footage used in Tiebreaker. Watch through 33:38 if you can stomach it.]
[After THE JUMP: the most bizarre explanation for a personal foul I have ever heard]
I misunderstood--
“My view of the first down was that it was that short [holds hands apart about eight inches].”
How do you feel this game affects the rivalry?
“Right now it’s not on my mind. It’s what I said.”
Do you feel that your team deserved to win?
“I thought our guys have worked incredibly hard. They have done everything that they could, and they’ve done it so very well. I’m very proud of our players, yes.”
Did you consider going for two?
“Two penalties all day. Multiple holding penalties let go. Multiple false starts. The official on my side who’s supposed to be watching that is concerned with whether our coaches are in the white or not in the white. Not on the field. Their coaches were on the field [and] practically in the huddle at times. Yeah, I’m bitter.”
Did you consider going for two after the touchdown in overtime?
“No. Considered it, considered and decided to kick the extra point.”
Do you think there’s any shot at getting into the playoff with two losses?
“I don’t know.”
Do you think you deserve to be in the playoff?
[chuckles] “I told you what I think. Thought our guys did everything they possibly could. Bitterly disappointed with the officiating. That’s how I feel right now.”
Jim, when did you know Wilton would go and can you talk about his play other than the big turnovers?
“Yeah, um, doctors had cleared him to practice this week. He was chomping at the bit to go. He showed that he was functional right up to the level that he’s been playing at all year. After he practiced on Tuesday, Wednesday, made the decision that he would start.”
What did you say to your team when you got in the locker room right after? I’m sure it was a very disappointed group. What did you say to them?
“Same things I’ve said to you.”
Disappointed in the officiating.
“And the other thing before that. Very proud of our team. This group has worked incredibly hard. Done everything they possibly could do, and they’ve done it so very well. Very proud of our team. That’s what I told them.”
Despite the officiating, are these the two best teams in the Big Ten?
“Uh, I don’t know.”
Defensively, you did a really good job of holding right up until the fourth quarter, then they got some things going. What were you able to do so well defensively, and did anything change from what you saw in the fourth quarter?
“Yeah, I mean, I thought we were doing a heck of a job. They got a gift interference call. A gift. The ball was uncatchable, past the receiver, when our guy, Delano Hill, made contact. And then fast forward to overtime, second overtime, Grant Perry is getting hooked, turned before the ball gets there. I think that really benefitted them, that gift interference penalty.”
Do you feel you lost this game or had it taken from you?
“I don’t know. What do you think? That’s what I think. As I said, bitterly disappointed in the officiating.
“So concerned about—could have been watching the game instead of being concerned about throwing a—what, did you throw a hat? Throw your script toward your sideline? That’s a penalty? I asked him that and he said, ‘Well, it is in basketball.’ I go, ‘Well, this isn’t basketball.’ He told me he officiates basketball. I don’t know the relevance. He said it would have been a technical in basketball. Yeah, I’m bitter.”
It’s gonna be tough to make the playoff. What would you say, what would your case be to get your team in there?
“We make our case on the field. I’m not here to make any arguments or any cases. I feel like our team has done everything they possibly could do and done it very well.”
Could you talk about Kenny Allen today and how big he came up for you?
“Yeah, Kenny was really outstanding, especially that last punt. Kickoffs were great. Field goals were great. He played as well as he possibly can play.”
Jim, you’ve been in a lot of big games. Can you remember a time where you came out of a game feeling like this about the officiating and the outcome?
“Yeah, I can remember a few other times. Not to this level, though.
[SID points to next reporter, reporter almost starts to ask question]
“Felt like there were some outrageous calls, including the one that would have ended the game. They had a good camera angle on it, ball doesn’t make it to the line. Gave ‘em a first down.”
Before the announcement that that call was upheld, did you ever get a good look at it before it was actually announced on review?
“Uh, our guys in the box were seeing it. I was seeing it on the big screen. You guys were seeing it on TV. What’d you see?”
[someone whispers ‘Short’]
“Short? What’d you see?”
Short.
“Short. It’s outrageous.”
Your defense played so well for much of the game, really dominated at stages. Does that add to the disappointment that it looked like you had control of the game?
“Yeah, I thought we were—I thought we did a heck of a job defensively. Got a gift interference call. You see that one? We’re probably just gonna keep beating a dead horse here because you know how I feel. Don’t know where else we can go with this.”
November 27th, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:26 PM ^
Forward progress stops when you are in the grasp of a defender, not when you run into your own players backside. He wasn't down until his butt hit the ground. At this point, the ball was a 1/2 yard behind the line and clearly not a first down.
The ref spotted the ball based on the wrong rule for forward progress. The replay looked at it for 30 seconds and apparently decided the same thing.
The call was wrong but unfortunately that changes nothing.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
double post
November 27th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
triple post
November 27th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
That's not the rule. It's after defensive contact, not in the grasp. I understand how hard this is to accept. No need to make up rules that don't exist, though.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:49 PM ^
I was interested, so I tried to look it up. This is the closet I could find. The only other reference to forward progress described being "in the grasp".
Ball Declared Dead ARTICLE 3. A live ball becomes dead and an official shall sound his whistle or declare it dead: a. When it goes out of bounds other than a kick that scores a field goal after touching the uprights or crossbar; when a ball carrier is out of bounds; or when a ball carrier is so held that his forward progress is stopped. When in question, the ball is dead (A.R. 4-2-1-II).
November 27th, 2016 at 1:09 PM ^
IV. A4, with the ball breaking the plane of the 50-yard line while in his possession, dives over the 50-yard line, which is the line to gain for a first down. He is knocked back to Team A’s 49-yard line, where any part of his body except his hand or foot touches the ground. RULING: First down at forward progress spot (Rule 4-1-3-b).
http://www.americanfootball.ru/Sport/Rule/2015_football_rules.pdf
November 27th, 2016 at 1:06 PM ^
Barret got drilled by a Michigan player as he's lunging forward and before Barret hit's his own TE.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
shoved the ball 8 inched up his Tight Ends rectum he did not get the first down.
November 27th, 2016 at 3:38 PM ^
Need ability to +100 this comment.
November 27th, 2016 at 1:02 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
Many in the media and most in the post game presser disagree with you. If you look at it again Barrett hits his own player, #88, in the butt and drops. That player, and more inportantly his butt, is behind the line to gain.
November 27th, 2016 at 5:21 PM ^
He ran into the ass of the lineman in front of him and the lineman's ass never crossed the line. How exactly could he have crossed the 15?
November 27th, 2016 at 12:46 PM ^
It feels A LITTLE like the blown James Joyce call at first base a few years ago when the Tiger pitcher should've had a perfect game. That was one play. The Mich-OSU game was arguably a systematic failure and multiple blown calls. So yeah, this is way worse than the blown call at first.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 11:26 AM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
November 28th, 2016 at 7:57 AM ^
The Big Ten money whores need to use some of that windfall $$$ to hire professional refs and not some guys off the street who ref basketball games for extra cash.
College football is big time now, it's not some fly by night operation.
We've upgraded the stadiums, we've upgraded the facilities, we've upgraded the coaching, we've upgraded the television and internet coverage . . .
Time to upgrade the refereeing.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^
I love that Harbaugh cares this much. It's why he makes such a big and quick impact everywhere he goes. He doesn't let things go, he refuses to accept anything but the outcome he wants.
He is wrong about the spot, though. The ball is over the 15 when Barret slides up the backside of his own player. Barret got the line by the barest of margins. We Michigan fans should accept that, we'd sound less like Izzo and State fans.
The PI calls were atrocious, as were many non-calls, like the blatant hold on Jourdan Lewis on the third down just before the fatal 4th and 1. Those were tough to swallow, but typical types of officiating mistakes that you hope balance out in the end.
Ultimately, this game came down to the two picks. Speights fumble ultimately resulted in a TD for Michigan a short time later, so i don't think that was a consequential play.The picks were consequential, and those were the only real mistakes that were unforgiveable.
Hopefully we have a great bowl game, another great recruiting class, Brown turns the new defensive players into a great unit by the end of next season, and Speight continues to improve. I think all that will happen and we have a great season to look forward to next year.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
Not being contrarian, just honest. Haven't seeen the skycam. Is it posted somewhere? I can't find it.
November 27th, 2016 at 2:28 PM ^
Not being contrarian, just dumb.
-FTFY
November 27th, 2016 at 11:22 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:36 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 2:35 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 2:58 PM ^
"Everyone (scout/rivals/here) keeps talking about this skycam view yet no one posts the picture"
November 27th, 2016 at 3:04 PM ^
This is photoshopped.
November 27th, 2016 at 3:07 PM ^
Just saw this comment by Patton below right after I posted:
"It' the same image we see everywhere that someone put into photoshop and angled the image to distort it and make it look like he got it. You can tell because the hashmarks are sloping down to the left in the picture."
I didn't see the slanted hashmarks until he mentioned it. That's shady.
November 27th, 2016 at 3:17 PM ^
Clearly faked
November 27th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 4:26 PM ^
THIS IS NOT AN OVERHEAD SHOT - PLEASE DONT POST
IT IS FAKE NEWS
November 27th, 2016 at 10:17 PM ^
There is a clip someone posted shooting a video of the replay on TV. Barrett's hand was on the 15 yard line. This shows his left hand forward of it by at least 6 inches. Definitely faked.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:46 PM ^
really, you have to photshop this and make it look different than what happened?
November 27th, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
just ... wow
November 28th, 2016 at 8:06 AM ^
What does the facebook link say. It is not showing up.
November 27th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 1:59 PM ^
Why are you fighting this losing battle? Apparently you like Bolivia? Even if you are correct, and I agree with most that you are not; stating your case here in the immediate aftermath of that game is not going to win anyone to your view. We come here to complain about what we feel was an unfair call, not have someone tell us it doesn't matter because they got the call right. I knew as soon as the call was made for 1st down we were F'd, becuase no ref would ever be ballsy enough to end a game like that. This loss is gonna sting for a LONG time, let those fans that feel differently than you wallow in that feeling a little. It's not about you being right or wrong about whether the call was correct.
November 27th, 2016 at 2:02 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
I'll take Harbaugh laying into legitimate officiating malfeasance every time over Hoke's “We fed the kids a little bit. They ate some stuff that's good for them to eat so that they can go out and play." nonsense.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
Usually coaches tow the line in fear of reprisal. He said what needed to be said. It won't change a thing but it's what a strong leader does
November 27th, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^
If Harbaugh throwing a script on his own sideline is a penalty, shouldn't Urban get penalized for waving his arms and riling up the crowd in OT? I mean, I'm sure in basketball that would be a tech, right?
Just a bullshit reason.
November 28th, 2016 at 1:03 PM ^
He didn't throw his script on his own sideline, he threw it to the hash marks on the field. It was really impressive how far out onto the field he threw it. I don't think they showed that on TV though.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^
Letting all the rage of yesterday seep back into me. Fuck.
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