Big 12 supervisor of officials explains wacky ending

After finishing a post-game press conference Saturday night in Cowboys Stadium, a livid Nebraska coach Bo Pelini huddled with Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe to discuss the controversial conclusion to Texas' 13-12 victory over the Cornhuskers.

During his press conference, Pelini said he never got an adequate explanation about why a second was put back on the clock after time apparently had expired with the Cornhuskers leading, 12-10, after an incompletion by the Longhorns. With time enough for a final play, Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence booted a game-winning, 46-yard field goal as time expired to send No. 3 Texas (13-0) to the BCS National Championship Game, against No. 2 Alabama (13-0).

Walt Anderson, the Big 12 coordinator of football officials, said the video review of the play showed the incomplete pass hitting the ground -- thereby stopping the clock -- with one second remaining.

"Right away, TV sent us a shot where we had the flight of the ball," Anderson said. "They superimposed the clock and so it's by rule a question as (to) when the ball touches something, there is time on the clock. And there was. There was a second left, so we put it back up."

Anderson said the play was reviewable "because it involves a clock error at a critical time in the game."

In explaining the situation, Anderson said: "With clock situations there are always going to be some delays, which is ... one of the reasons why instant replay was (implemented) ... You wanted to have the opportunity to utilize instant replay to correct an obvious error."

_ Jimmy Burch

Comments

[Richard]

Walt Anderson, the Big 12 supervisor of officials, is a piece of Shit. He should be made to pay for his crime.

[Curtis D Solaas]

OK you set the precedence, in this game there were 129 plays. are you going to go back and review everyone of them, if done, then you would find that you would have to add at least 129 seconds back to the game if not more because on some plays more than a second run off. Or is this rule only applied when the conferences top BCS contender is in jeopardy? And how is the clock running at its normal pace considered a malfunction or excuse me, an error? I witnessed errors during this game but none with the clock.