Matt Rhule understands the challenges of officiating games, so he said he’s not one to overly pick at tough calls on the field when guys are flying around full speed.
But the Husker head coach definitely is feeling the pain from a couple replay calls that have gone against his squad on touchdowns this year – and, yeah, he mixed in some thoughts about the ongoing conversation about allegations of Michigan pre-scouting in person opposing teams’ signals before playing them.
As for the close calls in the 20-17 loss to Michigan State on Saturday, Rhule said, «We had a couple where we were hitting guys by the sidelines that I thought could’ve been called against us. It’s a unique game to talk about the officiating. I have a lot of respect for officials. But I do feel like I have to say something in defense of our team too. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be out there and call a play, so I usually don’t say much about (calls). Like the pass interference on Malachi (Coleman), that was pass interference, right? I think everyone knows it after the game. The facemask on Heinrich (Haarberg). But I’m not out there doing what they’re doing and if we don’t have officials we can’t have sports. I don’t want to complain about those things.
«But we’re sitting here at 5-4. This is my fourth head coaching job. This is my 11th year as a head coach. I’ve never had a touchdown wrong on replay. And we’ve lost two games by three points – and we’ve had it wrong twice this year. It was wrong at Minnesota and it was wrong here. And that doesn’t mean we lost the game (because of it). We’re not excuse makers, right? We have to do our best to keep it from that, but the type of team we are right now, we can’t have seven points spotted.»
Rhule said he’s not complaining about officiating on the field, but rather what he sees as big replay misses. «Replay is difficult for me to understand.»
The one at Minnesota is in reference to a Gabe Ervin run near the goal line that came at the end of the half just before Jeff Sims threw an interception in the 13-10 loss to open the season. The replay called Ervin a foot short just before the pick happened. Nebraska thought there was clear evidence the ball was crossing the line before he was down.
The one against Michigan State was a 20-yard touchdown which the Huskers felt came on a ball that hit the turf. The first-and-10 TD pass made it 20-10 Spartans early in the fourth quarter. After review, refs said the call stands.
He added the people in the Big Ten are working hard at it and he’ll stay silent after this, but he also would’ve liked one more shot also to try to get into field goal range after Heinrich Haarberg had what Nebraska thought was a pass ruled a fumble that kept the clock running and more or less put the game to bed. The ball was at NU’s own 46 when the play in question started. A 15-yard pass from there might have given Tristan Alvano a field goal chance. Had officials stopped the game to check if Haarberg’s arm was going forward, Nebraska would’ve had a crack at it.
Rhule said everyone in the Big Ten seemed to be «on the same page» in following day discussions about the close calls in the game against the Spartans.
«I feel bad for our players about that. We’re sitting here at 5-4. We own 5-4 but we had one game where the team scouted us. We had two games where replay was wrong. That’s tough to swallow. But you know what? We are where we are and the issues about giving up sacks and turning the ball over, those are the main issues we’re going to work on controlling.»
In a follow-up question later in the weekly Monday press conference about the team that «scouted us,» Rhule said, «I’m just saying, ‘Come on.’ I’m just saying I feel for our players. At the end of the day, they’re out there trying to battle to get to bowl eligibility, right? We’re sitting there with a 5-4 record and we have a touchdown taken away from us, a touchdown added to them this game.»
He added that he called Michigan State interim coach Harlon Barnett Saturday night and texted back and forth with him about the Spartans’ wins and doesn’t want to diminish those victories that Michigan State and Minnesota achieved.
«I’m just saying for our guys, I’ve got to sit up in the front of the room, and they’re watching ESPN … they’re watching (Purdue coach) Ryan Walters speak some facts as they’re getting ready. And they’re like, ‘What do you think Coach?’ My No. 1 job is always to advocate for these guys.»
The reference to Ryan Walters was attached to the Purdue head coach saying prior to his team playing Michigan, «What’s crazy is they aren’t allegations. It happened. There’s video evidence (of scouting signs). There’s ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games.»
Rhule said that whole situation «is kind of crappy, right? It’s also good for our guys to learn, ‘No one cares. No one feels sorry for us.’ Those plays happened in this game this last week and you know what, they didn’t change the score. And the other thing happened and it is what it is. We just have to control what we can control.»
Rhule added no one from the league is having conversations with him about Michigan’s situation, with the Wolverines having defeated the Huskers 45-7 earlier this year.
«What’s the Husker prayer? ‘Dear Lord, the battles as we go through life, we ask for a chance that’s fair…’ that’s all I want. I want the 60 minutes of the game to be fair and not tilted one way or the other. You know, I just want to do things right so our players learn the difference between right and wrong, even in competitive equity. And I think it’s a shame, ‘Well, would it have mattered?’ … It is what it is. Other people have talked about it. It happened. Whether it affected (the score) or not, none of that matters to me. I just feel bad for our guys as they look at me, like, ‘Hey Coach, what are you doing about this?’ So I feel like I do need to say something on their behalf.»
Rhule added that when playing a game where recruits from all over are in town it can make a difference to prospects if something impacts a game from being more competitive, even if it’s still a loss.
«We carry this record. But I just want everything to be fair, that’s all I care about.»