Refs had our back
After watching yesterdays game 1 of 2 things is evident:
1.) The refs knew they owed Michigan a favorable disposition after screwing us to holy high hell the last 2 years in this game.
2.) They knew we had a better chance to make the playoffs.
If you don't believe they purposefully try to influence these games, I'd say you were crazy, because as bad as they screwed us the last 2 years, they had our back yesterday. It was that obvious to me.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
I think it was pretty fair, or slightly in our favor. Too bad Harbaugh/Pep were too "man ball" to take advantage of the constant DPI flags by targeting our WRs nonstop.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
The refs were fair but they didn't have our back. They bailed out OSU on a bogus PI on 3rd and 17 which switched momentum of the game.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
I think that one was legit. Watson grabbed jersey too long - if he had let up when the ball was in the air, probably not a foul.
We had more bogus holds and fouls called on our secondary vs. Indiana than yesterday.
November 25th, 2018 at 4:36 PM ^
call on Watson was ok. The one on Long right before half was not along with the hold on Watson on that drive. Set them up for those last 3 points
November 25th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
Was that the Brandon Watson hanging on to way too much jersey PI call? I don't recall a bogus PI call, but there could have been one.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:39 PM ^
1. That call on Watson was legit
2. Wasn't that the play immediately after they didn't flag Furbush for hitting a sliding Haskins? So a makeup call was due in any event
November 25th, 2018 at 2:43 PM ^
ya, we we saying that the makeup call is coming after that no call
November 26th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
Pretty sure Haskins didn't do a feet first slide on that play so he is not entitled to any special protection. Isn't that the rule?
November 25th, 2018 at 1:51 PM ^
November 25th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
they had one too, later in the game
November 25th, 2018 at 10:05 PM ^
That facemask called was just like the one called later against M. If anything, the refs were consistent, which was good.
November 25th, 2018 at 4:09 PM ^
You really think that one call changed all the momentum? They missed a huge targeting call on us before that.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
No. They just were very flag happy on PI.
November 26th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
We PI a lot.
We need to.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
We certainly got a few good calls. Wimbush should have gotten 15 yards and maybe targeting call for the Haskins slide. The only thing missing was a few holds on OSU - they did call at least one, but I recall a guy on the end getting held on the wide open TD pass.
And the refs didn't cause any of the low throws or dropped passes by Gentry.
November 25th, 2018 at 3:27 PM ^
I thought OSU was holding on us all game long and only got whistled once. That wasn't fair. Michigan's d-line has been hosed by the Big Ten refs for several years and it's a crime.
November 26th, 2018 at 12:21 AM ^
After several years, the pattern has been established. Whether we like it or not.
So maybe it's wise not to have a game plan that's totally predicated on our D-line getting pressure on a QB with a very quick accurate release on top of everything else.
Or at least have a Plan B when that's not working.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
The game seemed fairly officiated and if there was a lean, it was to us. I had zero issues with the officials. My conspiracy theory is that the B1G needed Michigan to win to have the best shot at the CFP, so maybe there was a bit of influence there.
November 26th, 2018 at 12:24 AM ^
It seemed to look that way.
All I know for sure is that Texas and Northwestern are going to get absolutely fucked on penalty calls this weekend.
You can count on it.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
Finally got the fair officiating we always clamor for and then got beat in embarrassing fashion.
Woe is life.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:15 PM ^
And this is why I will forever be pissed about 2016. We were the better team and we won that game. It is now only remembered for the spot as everyone forgets how poorly that game was called and biased toward osu. If we get a fair shake, we win that game, there is no 14 out of 15, haven't won in Columbus since 2000, Harbaugh is 0-4 against OSU narrative.
Everyone forgets Darboh being tackled on a screen pass, or Grant Perry getting mugged during our possession in OT only to see our defense commit the same foul and get called for it. Or the Delano hill very questionable PI on a ball thrown over the head of Taco Pants. Pick up that flag and osu has a 4th and 16 or something with no time outs.
November 25th, 2018 at 5:19 PM ^
I think the spot allowed everyone to focus on one call, when the officiating was terrible the entire game. You can argue the spot all day, but there’s no definitive proof either way. I remember Perry being mugged and no flag was thrown. I’m not sure about the Darboh play. There’s no such thing as pass interference behind the line of scrimmage so if it was a screen and he was interfered with behind the line, it’s probably a legal play. There were numerous holds and other no calls that went OSU’s way. Apparently Big Ten officials only care about getting OSU in the playoffs. They may not have hurt us yesterday, but they didn’t help us the way they did OSU two years ago.
November 25th, 2018 at 8:05 PM ^
The spot is pretty common in every game and it was magnified because it came on a critical play. Refs have done a bad job of spotting the ball because they're often off which is why I'm not angry about the spot. Plus the review for the spot is nearly impossible to overturn because you need to have an indisputable evidence to overturn it and there isn't to overturn it because it was so damn close.
I thought Michigan had a few favorable spots by the refs yesterday
November 25th, 2018 at 9:08 PM ^
Why you gotta remind me of all that. I can't be pissed/depressed about 2 OSU games at once
November 26th, 2018 at 12:31 AM ^
You have a good point. If the 2016 game was ref'd anything like the 2018 game, Michigan wins it easily.
When you only get one fairly ref'd game a decade, they should at least let you choose which game you get it for.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
Not sure if the conspiracy theories are real, but we did seem to get favorable calls. And the calls they did make against us, were pretty obvious (the blatant holds and PIs by DBs).
November 25th, 2018 at 1:07 PM ^
Good teams get calls. We were higher ranked and a favorite, and thus got some calls.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:13 PM ^
We got the whistles this year. And it didn’t matter. It mattered 2 years ago. Because why not.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:14 PM ^
I remember thinking that in the second quarter. Ultimately won’t be remembered but we definitely got a fair shake. Shame we were too inept to take advantage.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^
Of course we get decent officiating in a game where it makes no difference. BPONE
November 25th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^
Of course we get decent officiating in a game where it makes no difference. BPONE
November 25th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
What does Bpone mean?
November 25th, 2018 at 1:32 PM ^
New to the blog?
November 25th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
What does Bpone mean?
November 25th, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^
Black pit of negative expectations
November 25th, 2018 at 1:19 PM ^
They called stuff on both sides, I had a couple of minor quibbles, and didn't know any of the names, so best case scenario for officiating. Sadly, it didn't matter.
It's therapeutic to spend time on the board but the leaves are awaiting
November 25th, 2018 at 1:24 PM ^
The refs just called an even game. It feels like it was “in our favor” because we don’t usually get a fair whistle. They just called the game even. Congrats for that, I guess.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
Officiating was not a factor in this game, unlike the embarrassing debacle in 2016, that every objective observer understood, and I suspect even the OSU players understood before they proceeded to take their shutout beatdown from Clemson in the playoff. Yes, I did especially appreciate the legit holding call in the first half vs. OSU as it felt like we had entered a new era.
November 25th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
1. Bad take
2. See 1
November 25th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
If I recall correctly, even Meyer had a flag for his sideline conduct.
November 25th, 2018 at 2:07 PM ^
Dude ran out to mid field. Maybe missed call on questionable targeting, but also think the QB run is not a defenseless player. Don’t get many targetings when you’re a runner though.
November 25th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^
A QB running in the open field is not defenseless. A QB who slides is defenseless from the moment he lets his feet go. Furbush should have been flagged for the hit on Haskins when he slid. Not sure if the glancing contact warranted targeting, but it was definitely an unnecessary hit.
November 26th, 2018 at 12:35 AM ^
They made it up immediately after with a PI on us. You knew it was coming and it probably should. I was not even upset. "OK, that's settled. Play on."
November 25th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
They were totally on our side, and we still lost by 23.
We blew our one good ref card on a blowout loss. So Michigan.
November 25th, 2018 at 2:03 PM ^
When OSU got a penalty for an O lineman literally doing nothing down field to one of our players I was laughing my ass off and loving it. Guy didn't even really push our player slightly after the whistle and they called a P/F. Though it was great.
Then we probably should have gotten a targeting on Haskins and instead they called a penalty on Urban, I was laughing there too. The refs finally were going to help us, but I think a makeup call happened right after that.
Overall, I think the refs helped us out some, but it wasn't anything egregious or out of the norm. Just a chance that the calls favored us overall.
November 25th, 2018 at 2:41 PM ^
I don't disagree but I thought the refs threw the flag on the late block/hit because the Michigan player had stopped play and wasn't even looking in the direction he got hit from.
November 25th, 2018 at 4:48 PM ^
We got a couple favorable spots, too, and the helmet on the ball was a catch and fumble. First time in my, let's just say more than a couple decades, of watching Michigan football when I've felt we got the calls. The Game could have been a lot worse.
November 26th, 2018 at 12:39 AM ^
That's the scary part.
If The Game had typical Ohio State - Michigan refereeing and a healthy Bosa, OSU might have scored 100.
November 25th, 2018 at 2:05 PM ^
This thread is dumb. Calls went both ways. Win some and lose some, which is what you can ask for. Especially on the road in a big game. Nothing that shouldn’t happen though to call it out, or say we benefited from it.
November 26th, 2018 at 12:42 AM ^
I disagree.
2016 and 2018 refereeing were like night and day.
It was noticeable enough to be noteworthy.