Really? One Second ...

I watched the Texas/Nebraska Big 12 Championship game with reluctant anticipation. Texas has a very good offense. Their defense isn't bad either. So, I expected the Nebraska defensive line would play well (Ndamukong Suh for Heisman!), but the secondary would have several holes through which Jordan Shipley would run freely. On the other side of the ball, I thought the offense would commit a couple key turnovers that would lead to their demise. With a struggling quarterback, I knew the offense would sputter.

Now, on the other side of the game, I am proud of the Cornhusker defense. Wow!! They held the Texas Longhorns to less than half of their average total yards per game. The Blackshirts were stunning, especially in the secondary. Colt McCoy had nowhere to throw the ball and he was thrown around like a rag doll by the defensive line. The game was well played by Nebraska and Bo Pelini coached magnificently.

Football is a highly imprecise game. Every play of the game the linesman determines, as best he can, the position of the line of scrimmage for the next play. When a player runs out of bounds, he attempts to determine the location of the ball when the player's foot hit the ground outside the field of play. During all of this time, the keeper of the clock, whether on the field or in the booth, with the greatest approximation possible, pushes the button to start/stop the clock. Regardless of his concentration on the game or his attentiveness to the whistle, the starting or stopping of the clock is never exact.

All of that to say, I, with every Big Red fan in America and around the world, am appalled the referee would review the play to determine if there was one second on the clock. Granted, when the ball hit the ground, the clock did read one second. But, the referee didn't take the time during the other 100 plays of the game to second-guess the keeper of the clock. He didn't review every play to make certain the ball was placed in the right spot. The errors in judgment or the incorrect calls are a part of the game, even the seconds that slip away because the keeper of the clock hesitated. In the end, Texas was awarded the game. However, in my opinion, Nebraska's defense beat the best team (arguably) in the nation and deserve the Big 12 Championship title. GO BIG RED!!