Cyclones Screwed

For those of you who watched Iowa State vs. Nebraska today on ABC you saw a game ruined by poor officiating. In addition, you continued to see the blatant bias of the national sports media. It was impossible to count the number of times the announcers talked about Nebraska's supposed "west coast" offense. To those of you who don't speak "Nebraska football is amazing," a "west-coast" offense means that you throw the ball a lot. (Oh, and Zac Taylor only passed for something like 130 yards.) Wow.

Also, when Iowa State threw its first interception (and first turnover) the announcers immediately stated that Iowa State "really has to control its turnovers." What?

Finally, the announcers liked to comment on how Iowa State did against "Northern Illinois" last week? Do you mean "Northern Iowa?"

Anyway, Iowa State unfortunately couldn't score enough times. For two of the three times they did, the officials didn't believe them. The first was a bad pass interference call on Todd Blythe. The second touchdown was also a catch by Todd Blythe, who landed in the endzone with both feet. However, due to reasons beyond my understanding the officials decided that Iowa State didn't score. Suddenly a tied game became a 14-point deficit.

This should be no surprise to Iowa State fans, who are used to having games ruined by horrible officiating.

A Brief History of Iowa State Getting Screwed

December 27, 2001. Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA

In a game that Iowa State dominated, the whole thing came down to one last minute field goal. The ISU kicker sent the ball straight over the upright, and the officials called it no-good. I attended the game, and was rather confused. Watching SportsCenter that night we saw that the national sports media was actually on our side. They announced the game that was "won by a badly-called field goal."

August 24, 2002. Eddie Robinson Classic, Kansas City, MO

After badly trailing #3 Florida State until the 4th quarter, Iowa State came charging back to within a single touchdown. With time winding down Seneca Wallace ran towards the endzone and dove - extending the ball with his hands - out of bounds. Standing literally 10 yards from that particular corner of the endzone it was clear that Wallace had gotten in. But could the Cyclones tie the Seminoles? According the the officials - no.

And then today - two touchdowns ruled incomplete. It's time for the national sports media to realize there are more teams out there besides Nebraska, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, and the all the teams in the SEC. Also, it's time for the NCAA to allow more than one coach's challenge per game due to increasingly poor officiating.