SPORTS GROUCH - Zebras (Part II)

Posted 1/15/20

It’s not cool to complain about the officials. 

They are out there trying to do the best they can without the benefit of eyes in the backs of their little heads. 

If you are a …

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SPORTS GROUCH - Zebras (Part II)

Posted

It’s not cool to complain about the officials. 

They are out there trying to do the best they can without the benefit of eyes in the backs of their little heads. 

If you are a coach, player, parent, school official or anyone with ties to a school or its teams, complaining about missed calls, bad calls or even what may appear to be biased calls can get you in trouble with the NCAA, the officials union, TV networks, even the Mafia.

In games like Monday night’s national college championship football game, you expect the NCAA to have the best officials available to call the game.

Picking Pac-12 officials may have been an attempt to do that. The Pac-12 had no teams in the title run.

Since I have no officials ties to Clemson or LSU, it’s OK for me to complain because it won’t get either school in trouble.

Let me say this more delicately. The officiating Monday night sucked. 

                        Costly call on  Clemson

The worst call was an offensive pass interference call on Clemson in the 4th quarter. The replay showed LSU defensive interference.

That call negated a Clemson touchdown and momentum shift the other way.

Other missed calls and bad calls could be seen in the stands and on TV.

If you watched the game until after midnight, you know what I mean.

I will say that LSU played a great game. Clemson took it to them in the 1st quarter and made their vaunted, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback look like high school boy.

But the Bayou Bengals sucked it up and in the 2nd quarter took the lead.

                        The 2nd half

LSU came out of the locker room for the 3rd quarter feeling like they had the game in hand. Clemson knew better and showed it.

But by the 4th quarter, LSU proved to be the stronger team and Clemson’s fabled defense was sputtering.

What the defenses did to the opposing quarterbacks was the key to the game and LSU ratcheted it up.

By the game’s end, LSU QB Joe Burrow had stung Clemson with 31-49 passes, 463 yards and 6 TDs.

Clemson’s star QB Trevor Lawrence was suffering with inaccuracy. His passes sailed over his receivers’ hands.

He completed only 18-37 passes, ran for 1 TD, passed for a 2-point conversion and gained 234 yards.

It was not the kind of performance Lawrence is capable of. But it showed how well-coached the LSU defense played against him.

Clemson’s star running back Travis Etienne, a Louisiana native who came to South Carolina to play football, did a little better, He had 15 carries for 78 yards and a single TD.

The 2 teams have played 4 games against each other. Clemson has won 1, LSU 3.

This year Burrow graduates and goes pro. Maybe Clemson will do better.

I predicted last week a Clemson win in a high-scoring game. I was right about high scoring – 67 points.

LSU won 42-25.


   The Sports Grouch welcomes email at ChronicleSports@yahoo.com

Clemson, LSU, officials

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