LSU fans are outraged over a fourth-and-8 pass interference call against Auburn, near the Auburn goal line. Auburn defensive back Zach Gilbert overran LSU receiver Early Doucet and was called for pass interference. However, officials waved off the call after review confirmed that Auburn safety Eric Brock tipped the ball. Instead of LSU getting a fresh set of downs at the Auburn 16, Auburn took over at the 31, and eventually hung on to win 7-3. SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said Sunday that league supervisor of officials Rogers Redding won't complete his review of the game video until Monday. However, it appears that LSU's case falls in the gray area between rules. Brock's tip shouldn't affect the pass interference call because video replay shows that Gilbert hit Doucet before Brock tipped it. That is pass interference. However, pass interference penalties are not reviewable. Video could be used to confirm that Brock tipped it. The tip rendered the pass interference call moot. The judgment of when the tip happened in relation to the pass interference call, which blends the two issues together, is not reviewable. Video showed that officials on the field got the call wrong, but video couldn't be used to correct it. Two things come to mind: One, both Oklahoma and LSU still had opportunities to win their games and did not. Two, these are the sorts of problems that instant replay is supposed to resolve. All it has done is increase the amount of frustration on the part of coaches and fans who see their team being shafted over and over again. No matter how much technology there is available, in the end, human beings have to make a decision. Sometimes, they make the wrong one.
It's easier to fixate on one close call and ignore the many obvious horrible calls. The close one is easier to explain away, the others are impossible to explain therfore better left ignored by those charged with explaining.
Good one! I won't be confused anytime soon for an OU fan, but those guys got hosed, at least it was by the PAC10 officials.
