What you just watched is a video Brian Cook shared with you earlier this week of the final play of Akron's 39-38 comeback victory over Western Michigan. It was a thrilling comeback to watch for anybody who saw it, but if you were to ask Western Michigan what they thought, they would probably tell you that Akron's win was a crock of naughty word.
What you saw happen there was Akron's Alphonso Owen pick up a free kick from Western Michigan at the eleven yard line. You then saw him return the kick 14 yards before tossing the ball to teammate Andre Jones, who then took it all the way for the game winning score.
You know what you didn't see? The illegal block in the back thrown by Akron's Tyler Campbell early in the return. Don't worry about it though, the officials didn't see it either. They even admitted as much in an apology to Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit.
Western Michigan head coach Bill Cubit said a Mid-American Conference official apologized to him for two uncalled penalties that resulted in two Akron touchdowns in the Zips' 39-38 victory over the Broncos.It doesn't end there either. Officials missed another critical call earlier in the game. With a little over five minutes to go in the game, Akron's Chris Jacquemain completed a 51-yard touchdown pass to Jabari Arthur to cut WMU's lead to 38-31.
Cubit told the Kalamazoo Gazette that he received an apology from Carl Paganelli, the MAC's coordinator of officials. Paganelli said conference rules prohibited him from commenting, while the league's office told the newspaper that any reprimand of officials would be an internal communication.
One slight problem there though, as after reviewing the tape it's pretty obvious that Akron's left guard and tackle were both moving before the snap, which should have been a false start penalty. In other words, Western Michigan got screwed. On the bright side, at least Sportscenter got a Top 10 highlight.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-15-2007 @ 7:12PM
tracy said...
The fact is, penalties often do not get called. The ref did not cost Western Michigan the game, Western Michigan cost Western Michigan the game. A wiggle by an offensive lineman did not somehow miraculously enable the quarterback to hail the ball 51 yards and then also enable a very skilled receiver to then catch the ball and run it in for a touchdown. Western Michigan's inability to play good defense, cover the recievers and stop a good play from happening is what allowed the Zip's offense to score. Stop whining, practice harder this week, and don't stop playing the game until it's over. For assistance with how to be a good loser, visit www.suckitup.com. (not a real web site) :)
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10-12-2007 @ 1:53PM
ArJac2 said...
Obviously tracy you are a fan of Akron beacause if the shoe was on the other foot there would be a lot whining coming from the Zips. By the way what is a zip
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10-15-2007 @ 7:24PM
tracy said...
You got me. I am a zip fan. However, the zips had Temple beat this week the entire game (20-3). In the 4th quarter, Temple scored making it 20-10 and then 20-17. With about 2 minutes left, all the zips had to do was keep getting first downs and run down the clock. It was 3rd down and the zips were running the ball. The running back (i think) ran right into a pile of players and they were forced to punt, giving the ball back to Temple with plenty of time to drive down the field and score. All temple needed was a field goal to tie, but they didn't stop there. Temple capitalized on Akron's lifeless defense and drove down the field for a touchdown. With 27 seconds left, Akron was down 24-20. In this case, Akron seemed to have thought they had this one all wrapped up and they stopped playing before the game was over. They lost. See...I can be objective and call it like it is. By the way...a zip is short for zipper. Akron is the rubber capital of the world (Goodyear, Firestone, BF Goodrich). When the zipper was invented, it was first used on a rubber boot. I think the team was originally called the Akron Zippers and later it was shortened to zips. Now ya know.
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