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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8OXuet2iQ8"]College Football - 1988 #1 Miami Hurricanes @ #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish - YouTube[/ame]
20:48 – Steve Walsh gets hit before he throws, ball flies backwards 15 yards. Instead of Notre Dame getting the ball at the Miami 20, the ref rules “incomplete pass”. Perhaps the worst call of the entire game.
39:25 – Notre Dame botches the center exchange, Miami recovers. Somehow, in the instant Miami fell on the ball, they were called for holding during the runback. Makes no sense.
1:22:51 – As Miami is driving for a score, Rob Chudzinski catches a pass, takes two steps, then is belted and fumbles. Notre Dame recovers. The ref rules “incomplete pass” again. Miami scores a TD two plays later.
2:20:08 – the controversial call of the game. Cleveland Gary catches a pass, and as he’s hit by George Streeter he attempts to stretch the ball over the goal-line. The ball eventually comes loose, and is recovered by Notre Dame. The refs rule that its Notre Dame ball, but the controversy doesn’t end there. The play was a 4th and 8 (IIRC), so Miami could be stopped short of the goal-line and still get a first down. Jimmy Johnson claims that the refs gave Notre Dame the ball because they called it a “turnover on downs”, which would have been incorrect. If the refs had ruled Gary down, then Miami would have had a 1st and goal. That’s why Jimmy Johnson spends the next 15 minutes screaming “1st down! 1st down!”. Don’t know if I believe him, because the play was allowed to continue after the fumble, but perhaps there is some truth because the one official immediately points the ball Notre Dame’s way without conferring with the other officials. You’d think on such a questionable fumble that the refs would talk it over. Anyway, although it was risky for Gary to try to reach the ball over the goal-line in such a situation, it appears that he got the ball over the goal-line and only lost control when the ball hit the ground in the end zone.
2:36:01 – 4th and 7 for Miami. Last chance to tie/win the game. Steve Walsh lobs the ball to Andre Brown. Brown slips, traps the ball against the ground, rolls over, and the ball squirts away. By any definition this is an incomplete pass, because at no point did the player ever have control of the ball. But the refs signal “TD”, and Miami is given the opportunity to tie or win. Jimmy Johnson went for the win and ending up losing the gamble, but the TD was a gift from the officials. I think it would have been interesting if the officials had allowed the Gary TD earlier in the 4th period, because I wonder if Johnson would have gone for two then or if he would have played it safe.
Kind of a strange game, really. Miami could move the ball, but they kept turning it over. Even with the aid of the officials, Steve Walsh threw a few picks and fumbled the ball away a few more times. Cleveland Gary had a couple plays where he lost the ball but the officials blew the play dead. I think Walsh ended up passing for 424 yards, but the turnovers killed Miami.
20:48 – Steve Walsh gets hit before he throws, ball flies backwards 15 yards. Instead of Notre Dame getting the ball at the Miami 20, the ref rules “incomplete pass”. Perhaps the worst call of the entire game.
39:25 – Notre Dame botches the center exchange, Miami recovers. Somehow, in the instant Miami fell on the ball, they were called for holding during the runback. Makes no sense.
1:22:51 – As Miami is driving for a score, Rob Chudzinski catches a pass, takes two steps, then is belted and fumbles. Notre Dame recovers. The ref rules “incomplete pass” again. Miami scores a TD two plays later.
2:20:08 – the controversial call of the game. Cleveland Gary catches a pass, and as he’s hit by George Streeter he attempts to stretch the ball over the goal-line. The ball eventually comes loose, and is recovered by Notre Dame. The refs rule that its Notre Dame ball, but the controversy doesn’t end there. The play was a 4th and 8 (IIRC), so Miami could be stopped short of the goal-line and still get a first down. Jimmy Johnson claims that the refs gave Notre Dame the ball because they called it a “turnover on downs”, which would have been incorrect. If the refs had ruled Gary down, then Miami would have had a 1st and goal. That’s why Jimmy Johnson spends the next 15 minutes screaming “1st down! 1st down!”. Don’t know if I believe him, because the play was allowed to continue after the fumble, but perhaps there is some truth because the one official immediately points the ball Notre Dame’s way without conferring with the other officials. You’d think on such a questionable fumble that the refs would talk it over. Anyway, although it was risky for Gary to try to reach the ball over the goal-line in such a situation, it appears that he got the ball over the goal-line and only lost control when the ball hit the ground in the end zone.
2:36:01 – 4th and 7 for Miami. Last chance to tie/win the game. Steve Walsh lobs the ball to Andre Brown. Brown slips, traps the ball against the ground, rolls over, and the ball squirts away. By any definition this is an incomplete pass, because at no point did the player ever have control of the ball. But the refs signal “TD”, and Miami is given the opportunity to tie or win. Jimmy Johnson went for the win and ending up losing the gamble, but the TD was a gift from the officials. I think it would have been interesting if the officials had allowed the Gary TD earlier in the 4th period, because I wonder if Johnson would have gone for two then or if he would have played it safe.
Kind of a strange game, really. Miami could move the ball, but they kept turning it over. Even with the aid of the officials, Steve Walsh threw a few picks and fumbled the ball away a few more times. Cleveland Gary had a couple plays where he lost the ball but the officials blew the play dead. I think Walsh ended up passing for 424 yards, but the turnovers killed Miami.
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