Golden Spectacles: Zebra Nightmares - A Closer Look at the Penalties in Cal vs. OSU
by Kodiak on Oct 31, 2010 6:03 PM PDT
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PrintSo, did we get jobbed by the refs, or did we really self-destruct in an epic fashion that goes well beyond the realm of a faceplant and more towards the demesne of a Do-It-Yerself-Self-Lobotomy Kit? Was this some serious home-cookin', or...um...are we really...not...that...good...? Self-medicate and read on after the jump.
Penalty #1: 1st Quarter, 1st Drive, 1st series. 2nd and 10. They initially called Illegal Formation on us, but got overruled.
Conclusion: Great call.
Dr. Sunshine: Yay!
Mr. Blue: Oh shaddup.
Penalty #2: 1Q, 1D, 2S. 1st and 10. Shane Vereen runs for fifteen yards, but #53 (Donovan Edwards) gets called for a hold.
Fair call. Edwards clearly wraps his arm around their DE and then tackles him.(right at the white/blue line junction. Notice Vereen is three yards upfield) Completely unnecessary since Shane was already well past him. Thanks to 1st and 20, the drive stalls.
Conclusion: Fair call.
Dr. Sunshine: Clearly, their DE rotated in Edwards arms. That was just leverage.
Mr. Blue: In some states, they'd be legally married right now.
Penalty #3: 1Q, 2D, Receiving Kickoff. #20 Called for illegal block below the waist. Negates a return by Keenan Allen to near midfield.
At first, I thought this was a complete BS call. You can clearly see the OSU defender being cut by Isi Sofele from the front.(middle of screen, 3 yards upfield from KA #21) He is not being hit from the side or back, and is not otherwise engaged while being cut. The rules state, "A player must be facing north-south and the blocker's body must be on line perpendicular to the block." Sure looks exactly like what happened. However, upon further research, you are not allowed to block below the waist on any down in which a kick takes place. Damn. That's a coaching issue - our special teams guys should know that. Instead of starting on the 40, we start on our own 10.
Conclusion: By the rulebook, this is the proper call.
Dr. Sunshine: Isi just slipped! In front of that guys legs! Yeaaaah...
Mr. Blue: It's only been an NCAA emphasis for the past year or so. How would we know?
Penalty #4: 1Q, 2D, 3rd and 11. Marvin Jones (bottom of the screen) goes in motion and leaves early. Flagged for a false start.
Can't dispute this one either. Leaves us at 3rd and 16 from our own 4...which becomes the last throw for Kevin Riley as a Golden Bear.
Conclusion: Fair call.
Dr. Sunshine: Jones is fast. Really fast. This is just one of those lag-time mirage thingies.
Mr. Blue: If you're the #1 WR, and the guy in motion, how about waiting for the snap? Oh. Snap!
Penalty #5: 1Q, OSU's 2nd Drive, 1st Series, 2nd and 10. (4:41 to go) Chris Conte called for a late hit out of bounds. Kind of a weak call.
Conte does run into him near the sidelines, but his momentum carried him into Jacquizz Rodgers and he was trying to pull up. He didn't face mask, throw him down, or complete the tackle. This gives them great field position at the 50.
Conclusion: Bogus call.
Dr. Sunshine: I call shenanigans! He didn't light him up! This was a boom-boom non-call!!!
Mr. Blue: Your senior safety should be well aware that most refs legally qualify as "visually impaired" not to mention "special."
Penalty #6: 1Q, 3D, 3rd and 15, :09 to go. Edwards called for a false start. Pretty darn obvious. He would be the one standing up while everyone else is set. (sigh)
Conclusion: Fair call.
Dr. Sunshine: He was just getting set! Really, really set. Again.
Mr. Blue: The cheese stands alone...The cheese stands alone. That's what I'm calling Ol' 53 from now on. The Big Cheese.
Penalty #7: 2Q, 5D, 1st and 10. 10:23 to go. Dead-ball unsportsman-like conduct called. No player named. I think this was Tedford arguing about the uncalled late hit out of bounds on Vereen (Editor's note: Yes, this unsportsmanlike was on Tedford. He apologized for it in the postgame presser.)? Penalty negates a 10+ yard run by Vereen and leaves us with 1st and 26. Greaaat.
Conclusion: Bad call. Especially considering their earlier flag on Conte.
Dr. Sunshine: Good for Tedford standing up for his guys! Call it both ways!!!
Mr. Blue: Yeah. Composure is overrated. It's not like they look up to you or will follow your lead.
Penalty #8: 2Q, 5D, 2nd and 26. 9:25 to go. Crack-back block called on Spencer Ladner.
Can't see the foul on the replay. However, that blurry player just above the scorebox? That's Ladner. If he did hit someone, it was 20 yards down the field and so far away from making a difference in this play that it's downright sad. I suppose it's possible they were flagging Dominic Galas for diving at the legs of Stephen Paea at the very end of the play and got the number wrong. 15 more yards would make it 2nd and 41. I haven't seen that type of down and distance since the Holmoe years. And I still haven't - OSU declined the penalty to make it 3rd and 26.
Conclusion: Hard to say since it happened off-screen. It seems implausible that Ladner cracked someone 20 yards downfield. If they were calling Galas, then it's just a bad call, period. (He barely touched Paea)
Dr. Sunshine: Look at that effort! Blocking downfield. Never say die! Never give up!
Mr. Blue: Good plan. Let's illegally wipe out the safety twenty-plus yards downfield while the other eight guys in the box corral our RB...at the line of scrimmage.
Penalty #9: 2Q, 5D, 3rd and 26. 8:57 to go. Yes. That's three plays, three penalties in a row. Dominic Galas (65) is called for holding.
He grabs his guy, throws him down, and just to make sure the refs don't miss it, he tackles the guy from behind, too. OSU declines and takes the down (incomplete pass to Jones) to make it 4th and 26.
Conclusion: Fair call. (sigh)
Dr. Sunshine: Galas is the Chosen One! He brings a physicality to our line that we desperately need.
Mr. Blue: If only this game were about wrestling or calf-roping. He did everything but brand a 'DG' on that guys rear-end.
Penalty #10: 2Q, OSU's 4th drive, 1st and 10. 8:15 to go. Chris Conte called for pass interference.
He clearly hit Markus Wheaton before the ball arrived. The best part of this play is that Ryan Katz was rolling out, was about to get sacked, and was just trying to throw it away. Automatic 1st down at midfield.
Conclusion: The film don't lie. Fair call.
Dr. Sunshine: Uncatchable! Uncatchable!!!
Mr. Blue: Uncatchable because our guy smacked their WR instead of playing the ball.
Penalty #11: 3Q, 1st drive. 2nd and 1. 9:42 to go. Anthony Miller (80) called for holding.
Instead of a successful run on 2nd and 1, we now have 2nd and 11. Couldn't see Miller on the replay, but I'm sure the hold looked nothing like this one. (Sarcasm - The dude all but tackled Cameron Jordan)
Conclusion: Couldn't see it. But, considering the woeful performance of the Oline and TE's, not so hard to imagine. Probably a fair call...It still would have been nice to see a flag or two on OSU for similar plays, however.
Dr. Sunshine: Call it both ways! They've been tackling our guys all day, ref!
Mr. Blue: Totally. There's no way Mr. Tackle Eligible could get close enough to hold anyone.
Penalty #12: 3Q, 1D, 3rd and 11. 8:09 to go. Edwards (53) called for a false start.
(He's the one at the top of the line standing while everyone else is set) Now it's 3rd and 16. Not his best game.
Conclusion: Fair call.
Dr. Sunshine: He's being framed. Stupid computer interwebz lagtime.
Mr. Blue: The Cheese stands alone...The Cheese stands alone...
Penalty #13: 3Q, 2D. Receiving OSU's punt. 2:02 to go. Mark Anthony (2) penalized for an illegal block in the back.
He shoves their gunner around the 35 yard line. Instead of starting near the 40, we start at the 23.
Conclusion: Fair call. But, if the Italian soccer team ever needs a sub, this guy should audition.
Dr. Sunshine: The dude totally tripped. In fact, I think he shoved Anthony. That's a no-call at worst.
Mr. Blue: I agree. He deliberately flexed his scapula and shoved Anthony's hand with his back. A true travesty of justice.
Penalty #14: 3Q, 2D. 1:04 to go. Holding.
Player not announced, but it looked like it was Matt Summers-Gavin who had just replaced Edwards. Whiffed on his block and grabbed the guy from behind. Could also have been Chris Guarnero. Negates a really nice 40+ yard pass from Brock Mansion to Michael Calvin.
Conclusion: At least two players got beat, and started grabbing/shoving from behind. Fair call.
Dr. Sunshine: See? See?!!? They didn't name anyone! It's a conspiracy!!!
Mr. Blue: At this point, I think the refs just wanted to go home. They're probably gonna need Vicodin and ice for weeks to treat the muscle pulls from throwing all those flags. I don't blame them for not taking the two minutes necessary to explain that at least two (maybe three) of our Big Uglies were holding. Again.
Final tally:
Offense: 9 (3 False Starts + 1 Unsportsmanlike + 4 Holds + 1 Crackback)
Defense: 2 (Late hit + Pass Interference)
Special Teams: 2 (Illegal Crack-back + Block in the Back)
Of these, only the late hit out of bounds (Conte), the bizarre invisible crack-back(Ladner) and perhaps the unseen unsportsmanlike conduct calls were questionable. Sadly enough, we earned all the others. Yeah, OSU got away with a few, but let's not kid ourselves - that's not why we lost. This was completely uncharacteristic of a Tedford-coached team. So, the obvious question is...who exactly is coaching the offense? Uh, Coach...Maybe this is a good time to get a little more hands on?
Dr. Sunshine: Mansion finally gets his chance. With a solid whole week of practice, I'm sure he'll be able to run our offense better than he has in his previous three and a half years! Let's do this!!!
Mr. Blue: They call it "The Curse of the Palouse" for a reason. Doooooomed.
The opinions expressed in a FanPost are, in every way, reflective of the opinions of every California Golden Blogs Marshawnthusiast. Moreover, they are reflective of every employee of SBNation, including Tyler "Blez" Bleszinski.
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Thanks for the post. It looked a lot worse live. I seriously thought that the refs were out to get us. I completely agreed on all the false starts and some of the holds but I disagreed with the others (and credit to OSU they showed all the controversial stuff on the big screen). Especially the late hit out of bounds and the lack of call on OSU for the late hit on Vereen (only for us to get penalized after Tedford or whomever called the ref a dipshit [i made that up]).
No it didn’t make too much of a difference (the ref’s bullshit that is) but it was frustrating beyond belief. And OSU held Cam Jordan like crazy
In other words, Go Bears!
Good analysis
I think the out-of-bounds late “hit” was a very weak call since Conte was letting up as much as one could expect. But yeah, maybe the refs weren’t as bad as it seemed after all.
(slaps self) >_> <_<
NO WAIT I MEAN PAC-10 REFS SUUUUUCK!
All better :) Almost lost my sanity there for a second!
What’s egregious is that after making that extremely weak call on Conte, then they DON’T make the call on the much worse hit out of bounds that Vereen took, and then they have the gall to flag mild-mannered Tedford for complaining about it. Give me a break.
by atomsareenough on Nov 1, 2010 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions
The refs were doing you a favor!
I mean, if you let Tedford get away with questioning, then he’ll start arguing… If you let him get away with arguing, then he’ll start shouting… If you let him get away with shouting, soon you’re letting him get away with swearing… then he’s storming up and down the field and flopping on sidelines… then you have this:
Is that really what we all want? I didn’t think so.
It would take a million years to turn Tedford into that raging douchebag.
by atomsareenough on Nov 2, 2010 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions
I still think the refs did a bad job overall.
Penalty 5 should not have been called particularly when contrasted with the play on penalty 7, that drew penalty because of coach Tedford arguing the bad no-call by the ref (something Tedford rarely does). As you also say, we don’t know what happened on penalty 8. Mostly, what I was angry about, were the horrible, horrible spots on consecutive plays. You could make the excuse of the game being live leading to a misunderstanding of the play, but they looked at both, and both plays clearly illustrated incorrect spots, yet the refs stuck with the wrong calls. The first play was a completion, that should have either been an incomplete pass, a tackle a yard and a half behind the first down marker, or a fumble out of bounds. Not a completion inches from the sticks. Then, on the next play Quizz gets stuffed, at best getting to the line of scrimmage, yet somehow he managed to pick up the first down by a half yard. That was complete crap.
In the end it doesn’t matter, because we didn’t lose the game because of the refs, they merely exacerbated our poor play. No use in staying angry.
I agree, those spots were abysmal.
CGB: Quality is our Dignity; Service is our Lift.
by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2010 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Was at the game....
…..not a single Beaver fan parallel with the 1st down marker thought that Quizz made that first down. The place was silent as a tomb when he was stuffed.
Yes, the spots!
And what about that one play where Tedford challenged it, and the refs STILL got it wrong??
by atomsareenough on Nov 1, 2010 10:05 AM PDT up reply actions
Since the Z-team camera crew was sent in, there were only three looks, sideline, and either endzone.
CGB: Quality is our Dignity; Service is our Lift.
by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2010 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
*three looks:
CGB: Quality is our Dignity; Service is our Lift.
by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2010 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Start of 2Q, False Start on Mitchell Schwartz 72
Tedford asking how did this happen. Marshall pleading his innocence.
http://twitter.com/solariseCGB
Why are they wearing bullet proof vests under their Cal jackets???
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Caption contest!
Tedford: Why did I hire you?
Marshall: I don’t know!
by ginfizzbear on Oct 31, 2010 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Caption content
Tedford: "Quick! Which OSU lineman is going to blow through the line and sack the QB on the next play!
Marshall: “Fuck if I know!”
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
More
Tedford: Dammit Marshall, our O-line sucks donkey schlong.
Marshall: Someone needs a hug!
by ginfizzbear on Oct 31, 2010 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions
My caption contest entry
Tedford: My five fingers are folding into a fist to punch you in the face now.
Marshall: MAKE MY DAY!
http://twitter.com/solariseCGB
Damn. Missed one. Thanks solar – My replay video capture is missing the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half.
Old Toothwrangler
Most of the calls the refs made on us were fine. It just happened so frequently, you felt it HAD to be bad reffing. It was poor reffing for a different reason… they called like none of the penalties that happened on OSU. Now, I don’t think that would’ve even given us a shot to win it, but it just makes everything about a bad loss like that feel worse. And plus, I just couldn’t stand the ref’s fucking face. Just looking at him pissed me off for some reason.
The Conte call was technically correct though so hard to say it was a bad call. He was trying to pull up so if the ref had any common sense, he doesn’t flag it but it was technically correct IMO.
Hard to see how you could call the other 2 “questionable” flags as bad calls. You couldn’t see what Ladner did but because he wasn’t involved in the play, “it’s hard to imagine” that it was a penalty? FLAGGED, Kodiak, 15 yards for lack of logic. Automatic…FIRST DOWN.
Also, the unsportsmanlike, no one except the ref and the “offender” know what that was for so until you get more evidence, you can’t call that a bad call.
Bears made their own luck on Saturday I’m sad to say
Inspiring and completing since1997 since2010!
I called the Conte hit out of bounds a bad call because it was a bad call. I called the unsportmanslike a bad call because I am a ridiculous homer.
If he did hit someone, it was 20 yards down the field and so far away from making a difference in this play that it’s downright sad.
Translation: Really dumb penalty to hit someone illegally that far away from the action.
English to Texas Translation: Why take your mistress to a brothel and use your wife’s credit card to pay?
Hard to say since it happened off-screen. It seems implausible that Ladner cracked someone 20 yards downfield. If they were calling Galas, then it’s just a bad call, period. (He barely touched Paea)
Yes. Logic. How does a TE manage to illegally crack someone 20 yards down the field when the safeties and CB’s had already charged the line in run support? How did you enjoy the play, Mr. Lincoln?
Old Toothwrangler
English to Texas Translation: Why take your mistress to a brothel and use your wife’s credit card to pay?
Huh?
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Nov 1, 2010 7:58 AM PDT up reply actions
Dumb analogy, everyone knows you don’t take your mistress to a brothel but rather a cheap hotel that rents by the hour and accepts cash. Jeez.
Inspiring and completing since1997 since2010!
lmao
CGB: Quality is our Dignity; Service is our Lift.
by Spazzy Mcgee on Nov 1, 2010 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Yes. Logic. How does a TE manage to illegally crack someone 20 yards down the field when the safeties and CB’s had already charged the line in run support?
But if you didn’t see it, how can you say it was a bad call? Penalties are called miles away from the ball action all the time so its plausible that Ladner did something illegal that drew a flag rather than otherwise (that the ref threw a flag because he hates Cal and America). You could be right and the call sucked but since you didn’t see the players involved, I don’t see how you can definitively say anything (same situation as Unsportsmanlike call).
As for the Conte play, your picture up above shows that it was an accurate call, he hit him out of bounds. Agree it shouldn’t have been called because Conte’s intent was clearly that he was trying to pull up but we can’t argue it too much…
Inspiring and completing since1997 since2010!
I think they probably called the wrong number. It probably wasn’t supposed to be on Ladner.
by atomsareenough on Nov 1, 2010 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions
I called the Conte flag a bad call because although contact was made out of bounds, he was clearly pulling up. This was a spirit of the law, not the letter of the law type of issue.
I called the unsportsmanlike flag a bad call because of the clear double standard in play; ie flagging Conte but failing to flag a similar hit on Vereen. Knowing that Tedford is not prone to sideline histrionics nor outbursts of abusive profanity, I find it hard to believe he deserved the unsportsmanlike flag. However, I will concede that it is possible this was deserved, albeit still unfair.
I called the Ladner play questionable because I couldn’t see it and suspect that the ref was flagging Galas (but called out the wrong #) for something that I could see. I freely admit that it could have been a perfectly reasonable call…even if it seemed unlikely. In all seriousness, even if I couldn’t see it, I really have trouble figuring out how he managed to illegally crack someone that far down the field – there just wasn’t anyone back there for him to hit. With that assumption, it was a really weak call on Galas. Technically, it was a fair penalty because he did make contact with Paea’s legs and Galas’ body was not perpendicular to Paea. But this was at the end of the play and Galas was falling down, not deliberately diving at Paea’s legs to cut him. Questionable, perhaps correct, still somewhat weak considering all of the diving at legs that the OSU players were getting away with on both sides.
Old Toothwrangler
This was a really good piece overall so please don’t take my nitpicking too personally. I just really got annoyed on Saturday when there were a lot of “Blame the refs” posts on the game threads which, although somewhat valid at times, had very little to do with Cal’s first half performance.
It’s all about accountability and it struck me that Cal fans were looking for excuses when there should have been none. It was “USC II: Electric Boogaloo” Saturday.
Inspiring and completing since1997 since2010!
by Fire Starkey on Nov 1, 2010 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions
No worries, man.
Fact is, I agree with you.
Sadly enough, we earned all the others. Yeah, OSU got away with a few, but let’s not kid ourselves – that’s not why we lost.
It was pretty darn depressing going through all of those again, anyhow. What happened to the precision and smart play that used to be hallmarks of Tedford team?
Old Toothwrangler
I doubt that anyone could legitimately argue that Cal lost because of the officiating. Not only is that the last refuge for losers, it’s also clearly not true. Cal lost because they stunk up Reser so bad that poor OSU needs to tent the place and fumigate it.
That being said, Larry Scott needs to pull thise officiating team from any future games.
The bigger question isn’t whether we got jobbed on these calls, because clearly the majority were legit. However, it’s a matter of the non-calls against OSU. A ref can throw a flag against either team on virtually every play, because there is enough “gray zone” action going on with both sides that could warrant it – particularly on things like PI calls on long passes, late hits, and other personal fouls. But they don’t because they rightly understand that it’s not right to do it. However, it only takes one or two key calls to change the momentum of a game, or to make it essentially unwinnable for one team. And for me, two penalties really stand out: the late hit by Conte, and the non-late hit on Vereen.
Despite anyone saying that what Conte did was “techincally” a foul, using that as an excuse is lawyer-ball, and plays like that happen every game without flag. Sure, OSU gets their 1st down regardless of call on Conte, but the extra 15 sucks the energy out of the defense and almost gifts OSU another score. Taken with the non-call on an even worse tackle on Vereen later on, this makes even less sense. Worse, I think it was the last straw for Cal. Not only do we not get the 1st on the play to keep the drive going, nor the extra 15 to potentially set up a score, we get dinged for 15, killing the drive and what little spirit the team had left.
The psychological effects of those two calls is huge, especially considering this is a team that obviously has issues about playing on the road. After the stupid Vereen fiasco the players must have subconsciously (if not overtly) just given up. At that point, the realization that the game was unwinnable must have hit them, just as it hit all of us on some level or other.
Make no mistake, I’m not claiming that those two calls lost the game. Far from it, Cal loses this game regardless. OSU was the better team and played with more fire, desire, and discipline. But I firmly believe that if those two calls aren’t made – along with the ticky-tack PI foul on Conte later, this is at least a competitive match, and if nothing else Cal takes away some momentum and a belief they can compete and win on the road.
Regardless of the fact that Cal deserved almost all of the penalties they received, this was the worst-officiated game I’ve seen in a long, long time.
Being an Old Blue means fearing any athletic success.
by SoCal Oski on Nov 1, 2010 7:31 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs
Yes, exactly.
I’m sure Cal committed most of the penalties they were given, but I’m sure that if you’re really looking for them, there are penalties committed on MOST plays in every college football game. I bet you can usually find something to flag on any given play if you’re looking for it. Really, it’s the refs’ responsibility to figure out how tightly they want to call a game, and then apply that standard evenly to both teams on offense and defense. I’m sure OSU was doing plenty of holding, improper blocks, and other illegal shit, but only we were getting called on it, and that’s not fair.
by atomsareenough on Nov 1, 2010 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions
The unsportsmanlike was on Tedford.
He apologized for it in the press conference.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
M. Jones body slam
How about that body slam on Marvin Jones? It wasn’t as violent as Rolando McClain’s but that still seemed like it warranted a flag or two.
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