My link
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Bo Pelini wanted to hit the kid.
You could feel it. You could see it in his eyes, the way he gritted his teeth.
One of the worst nights in recent Husker history had just ended with Pelini bolting for referee Greg Burks. He lashed his tongue at Burks one more time as the zebra ran off the field.
Then Pelini made his way to midfield and shook hands with Aggies coach Mike Sherman.
Then Pelini started walking to the Husker locker room, a fish swimming upstream as a maroon school of Aggie fans rushed the field.
One student wasn't watching where he was going. Ran right into Pelini's chest. Head-on collision.
For half a second, I thought Bo was going to unleash three hours of fury. Strike him. Make this ugly evening into a national story. He didn't. Thank God.
Pelini exited the field with his team as cannons boomed, as smoke filled the air, as a Husker fan shouted repeatedly — “They stole it!”
About five minutes later, Pelini walked out of the Nebraska locker room — sweaty sweatshirt on his back — and saw me at the bottom of a stairwell.
“You ever seen anything like that?” he said, almost resigned to the facts.
Honest truth, Bo. I haven't.
Nebraska was charged with 16 penalties and Texas A&M two. And that's why the Huskers lost. That's why. That's it.
When such a foul discrepancy happens on the basketball court, officials instinctively call a few ticky-tack hacks to even things out. These refs had no such mercy for Big Red.
Most of the penalties Saturday night were reasonable. The most criminal absolutely was not.
Courtney Osborne blitzed on third-and-11 at the Nebraska 49.
He hit quarterback Ryan Tannehill right in the chest — much lower than Osborne's hit on Blaine Gabbert three weeks ago.
The referee, Burks, threw the flag for roughing the passer. Did Osborne hit too high? Did he hit too late?
“I didn't get any explanations,” Pelini said.
Back in the hallway, I asked Pelini what he said to Burks running off the field.
“I can't repeat it,” he said.
When did you know it was going to be a rough night between you and the officials?
“Pretty quick.”
Moments later, Pelini sat down before the Nebraska press corps and said he wasn't talking about the penalties.
I asked if he thought his sideline behavior perhaps precipitated some of the flags.
“Maybe,” he said. “I don't know.”
I asked if he thought Nebraska leaving the Big 12 Conference led to some of the flags.
“Like I said, you guys can make your own deductions. All you gotta do is look at the numbers.”
There's no use denying it anymore. Something's going on. Nebraska plays aggressively and sometimes even great teams get flagged a bunch.
But entering Saturday, Nebraska's seven conference foes had been charged with 29 penalties. Next lowest in the Big 12 was Iowa State, 42.
In other words, Big 12 officials don't throw flags on Husker opponents.
Is that coincidence? Until this game, I would've argued yes. But personal fouls don't just happen. Player A provokes Player B, Player B reacts. Personal fouls should be fairly even.
Nebraska had seven personal fouls. A&M had one.
Ben Cotton got flagged twice for personal fouls on one play for kicking an Aggie. Why? Well, Cotton singing soprano on the sideline had something to do with it.
Don't let Nebraska off the hook, especially the Pelinis. Bo blew a gasket as folks watched on television. He made himself, his program and his fan base look juvenile.
He spent more time chewing officials and Husker players than any game I've seen in three years — that's saying something.
He dressed down Taylor Martinez after the quarterback returned from the locker room in the second quarter.
“I can't talk about that,” Pelini said. “It had nothing to do with his injury.”
Carl Pelini had his own drama.
Brandon Jones, a camera man and co-owner of TexAgs.com, spotted Carl yelling at someone as he walked off the field. Jones started filming Carl. Carl saw the camera about 10 feet away, approached Jones and grabbed the camera.
“There's this awkward moment where we're eye-to-eye with each other,” Jones told me. “And I say, ‘What are you doing?'”
Carl broke off the eye piece of the camera, threw it on the ground and “stormed off the field,” Jones said.
You can see some of the confrontation at TexAgs.com. Carl Pelini was unavailable for comment.
What now for Nebraska? Two more dates with Big 12 officiating crews — if all goes well against Colorado. Then a fresh start.
When the Huskers play their first Big Ten game at Wisconsin in 10 months, I half-expect Bo Pelini to give Big Ten officials a box of Omaha Steaks and a bottle of Captain.
Wisconsin's Camp Randall will be crazy that day — about like Kyle Field Saturday night.
According to long-time Aggie observers, Saturday was the first time that fans rushed the field in at least 35 years.
They loitered on the field after the game, watching the replay board as the heroes dissected the win at their press conference.
Time and time again, players and coaches praised the crowd. The 12th Man, they call it.
On this night, A&M's 12th Man wore a white hat and a whistle.
Last edited by a moderator:
