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 11:51 AM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 1:57 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 6:33 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^
offered his unvarnished opinion. It's exactly how I feel. I too made the connection to Bo's "bitter" remarks. It's been a long time since I posted anything, but I'm having a hard time --relatively speaking--shaking off the game.
November 27th, 2016 at 8:03 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^
He's a fucking criminal.
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November 27th, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^
I wonder if all of the fan outrage (including 3rd party opinion) and Harbaugh's comments in any way will result in any fallout for either that officiating crew, the vetting process, the policies, procedures... anything at all.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
If you think officials will ever get held accountable for their complete ineptitude, then, how does the saying go... something about having a bridge to sell you?
November 28th, 2016 at 8:00 AM ^
Yes it will: Jury Nullification . . . in the form of the CFP committee putting Michigan in the CFP.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 12:49 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^
Tons of bad calls...the most egregious IMO was when Grant Perry was tackled by two nuts on a pass attempt. TACKLED HIM! and no call.......
November 27th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 2:05 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 2:12 PM ^
Lloyd probably would have said something. He said "We deserved better" after Spartan Bob, IIRC.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
This type of outrage doesn't go unnoticed. It's like it was the lead headline after the game last night. Look, certain crews were not considered for this game because they've been less than effective calling Michigan games. John O'Neil's crew has been the lead crew in the league for the past few years. His crew has done the Michigan-Ohio State gamein Columbus before.
And the crew that worked yesterday has also done The Game in Ann Arbor.
Sideline clearance has been a point of emphasis for the league all season long. They've called penalties on various coaches for it all season. So, the fact that this side judge was overly concerned with the coaches position on the white chalk is understandable to a point. But his treatment of Harbaugh in justifying an unsportsmanlike call for tossing his headset and playcard isn't protocol, justified or reasonable under the circumstance. No one was influenced by Harbaugh's reaction. And that crew certainly wasn't intimiditated by his response to calls, even if he did show them up, which is the basis for any technical foul call in basketball.
But the crew yesterday was seeking to appease the crowd with its calls, not manage the game. How many calls were made after the crowd reacted negatively? Stribling was called for PI in the first quarter on a play in which he handfought with the eeceiver, but it was nothing compared to the holding that occurred on crossing patterns by Buckeye dbs on Darboh and Chesson and how Perry got ran over twice and hooked without calls several times. There was a standard for Michigan, but none for the Buckeyes.
The ugly judgment of the spot was just a reflection of game management aimed at appeasement. That is the only reason to not review ball placement more precisely. And here's the thing, that influenced the booth call, which couldn't overturn the call on the field because they didn't have a sideline view. So the roving camera moving overhead isn't effective enough to give the proper perspective on it. In any case, this crew at the very least will not be working a Michigan game in its immediate future, I can guarantee you that.
November 27th, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 1:10 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 1:23 PM ^
November 28th, 2016 at 8:03 AM ^
OK, not everything needs to be a take about Trump.
November 27th, 2016 at 1:34 PM ^
In most case for baseball, coaches will get two each from their respective associations. They're choosing guys they know won't "screw" them. I know in football, crews stay together, but if there are all-star crews, it would seem to be fine. A side judge knows what he's looking for and doesn't need the comfort of his fellow crew men he's been with all year to help make calls.
Surely there's a system in place coaches can request AND block certain crew or individuals from calling their games at this level?
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November 27th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 3:07 PM ^
I don't understand how someone could miss this.
November 28th, 2016 at 8:04 AM ^
They didn't "miss it". They ignored it.
There's a difference.
November 27th, 2016 at 4:46 PM ^
unacceptable for officials to miss this and the Gareon Conley early hook on Grant Perry in the fourth quarter while calling Delano Hill for pi on an uncatchable ball. Officials stunk yesterday.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:51 PM ^
it was obvious watching live obvious every time that clip is viewed.
November 27th, 2016 at 11:51 PM ^
it was obvious watching live obvious every time that clip is viewed.
November 27th, 2016 at 1:44 PM ^
Sucks the way the regular season ended, but hell of a season, regardless, every reason to be proud of the players the coaching staff and everybody associated with the program.
November 27th, 2016 at 2:31 PM ^
If it's the picture I've seen being passed off on reddit and by OSU fans, it's fake. 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. Evidently it's tricked some people.
November 27th, 2016 at 4:38 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 11:54 PM ^
someone posts here and asks for the Skycam, good chance it's because of that Photoshop.
There's original footage available for anyone who didn't actually witness our D stop Barrett in real time.
November 27th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
It feels the most egregious because it cost Michigan the game. I also think they should have reviewed it longer. I just didn't see an angle, although perhaps that's why they should have taken more time, that would have caused them to overturn the call on the field. That's different than saying the call was right. I agree that the mised PI calls were far more obvious and changed the outcome of the game as well. Just like 2006, I'll think abou this one for a long time. I rewound the tape on Samuel's run and watched it about five times. I was lookign less for holds and more for how random it was. If he hadn't accidentally ran into his own blocker I think he would have gotten taken down. That play was a lot of skill and some dumb luck, and it cost Michigan the game because I think their kicker would have missed from 40 or 45.
November 27th, 2016 at 3:12 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 4:22 PM ^
Ball slides up 88's butt, touches the black undershirt. The undershirt is clearly over the 15 yard line at the point the ball touches it. Barret got line. Release your rage. It's not healthy.
When the ball is at it's most forward point it is obscured by Barret's helmet, but it is on the line to gain.
November 27th, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^
im a troll
please ignore me
as i post the same thing every time
November 27th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 5:03 PM ^
It may look like you describe if the scene is appreciated as 2-dimensional. But the shot is from a negative angle of at least 15 degrees back from the play. Now, use your mind to rotate 15 degrees forward. If number 88 is your point of revolution, rotate 15 degrees to the left in your mind. If you do this, you can clearly see that it's short. It really isn't even close, he barely gets into the yellow with the ball up by his shoulder/chest. Not even close. Ref looking down the line should have seen that. But he clearly knew where his bread was buttered.
November 27th, 2016 at 5:36 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 6:44 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 6:48 PM ^
Well go ahead and post the image you say you've seen. We'd all like to see it. I'd love to be wrong, although it wouldn't matter.
Barret had the ball tucked right against his facemask. You can see that his helmet, the whole thing, crosses the 15 yard line. The ball was tucked into the bottome of the facemask. The ball crossed, or at least touched the plane of the 15.
Show me a link to this definitive picture. I'm dying to see it!
November 27th, 2016 at 6:57 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 7:39 PM ^
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November 27th, 2016 at 7:42 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 7:42 PM ^
Okay, that's a good shot, but it's not from the point of most forward progress. It's from when Barret is already falling back. That shot lines up with this frame fromt the video I stills I grabbed.
Compare all the body postiions, and the placement of the D-lineman's hand on Barret's shoulder. This is the exact same moment in time as the shot you posted. But it's 4 frames (a little over a tenth of a second) after the most forward progress which is this:
Show me the shot from that angle at this point in the play and I'll admit that Barret didnt' get the line.
November 27th, 2016 at 7:56 PM ^
November 27th, 2016 at 6:50 PM ^
Hey "Big Fan" Preacher Mike, look at the SB Nation's video. Look at Barrett's left hand when Wormley's right hand is near the ball. Barrett reached out to the white line - since he probably knew that's where he needed to go. In the video, because of the angle, it's looks like his left hand is several inches past the white line. However your picture indicates his left hand just touches over the white line. As the video shows the ball is 18" or so short of where his left hand is when he reached out to the line. It's not right above his left hand at all. Actually your deceptive picture in concert with the video proves he was short. (Which we knew all along any how.)
November 27th, 2016 at 8:51 PM ^
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