Following a Nebraska football win over Maryland on Saturday that included 16 penalties called on the Huskers, head coach Matt Rhule let the referees have it in his postgame press conference. The fact that some rather blunt comments, usually followed by hefty fines, went unpunished is the clearest sign yet that the Big Ten essentially agrees with his appraisal of the officials' job on Saturday evening.
Earlier this week, a conference spokesman said no disciplinary action will be taken against Big Ten officials who worked the Maryland-Nebraska football game or against Rhule for his postgame criticism of the crew.
The announcement came one day after the Big Ten announced that Nebraska’s final point-after kick in a 48-23 victory in Lincoln on Saturday was incorrectly officiated after a roughing-the-snapper penalty was called.
Because Nebraska missed the attempt, the penalty should have allowed the Huskers to retry with the penalty yardage enforced as half the distance to the goal. However, the miss was allowed to stand, and the penalty yardage was incorrectly assessed on the ensuing kickoff.
Big Ten admits Nebraska-Maryland officiating error while declining to discipline Matt Rhule
After the game, Rhule said there was even more confusion over the penalty than the Big Ten alluded to in its statement, and over how to enforce it. He claimed the referees told him the extra point was good, so he didn't insist on retrying the kick and instead allowed the enforcement on the kickoff.
His comments about the extra point were far from the only thing he said about the officials. In fact, the Nebraska head coach went so far that he expected the Big Ten to fine him, but he simply couldn't hold in his frustration.
"I thought it was ridiculous," Rhule said. "I thought it was poorly handled by the officials and poorly done by us. You've never heard me say that before but I was frustrated today. There were things I've never had called before."
Asked to elaborate on his comments, Rhule added, "I'm just waiting for the fine. I'm going to stop, respectfully. I've probably said too much."
Among the most egregious calls was a Maryland punt attempt in the first quarter. The kick appeared to have been tipped by Nebraska's Jeremiah Charles, who, in the process of blocking the kick, collided with the punter. However, officials claimed he never touched the ball (despite the punt shooting off at an odd angle and traveling only 28 yards) and threw a flag. Rather than issuing the 15-yard roughing penalty that would have guaranteed a first down, the refs imposed the less serious 5-yard running-into-the-kicker penalty, but still awarded the Terrapins the first down.
Several viewers watching the game pointed out that while the play technically happened on a 4th and 5, the spot of the ball made the distance to gain a first down 5.5 yards, meaning the penalty should still have led to 4th down and another punt (the Terrapins were on their own 30), rather than Maryland retaining the ball. Those mistakes gave the Terps new life, and they eventually turned it into a 3-0 lead.
The biggest question now is whether the Big Ten will follow through on its promise to not discipline the officiating crew, or simply discipline it in a more under the radar way. This is already the second time this season the conference has had to correct a major rules mistake the group has commited.
The officiating crew that worked the Nebraska game, headed by referee Jim Wharrie, also worked the Western Michigan-Michigan game on September 5. That game ended with confusion about the game clock. An extra second was added to the clock, and Michigan's second Hail Mary pass succeeded, giving the Wolverines a 13-12 win. Weeks later, the NCAA oversight committee ruled that the extra time should never have been added, but it lacked the power to overturn the game's outcome.
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