Earlier this week, three replay booth officials that worked the BYU-San Diego State contest this past weekend were suspended for a game for failing to overturn an obvious fumble by the Cougars.
The play in question: after a Cougar running back appeared to cough up the ball -- which was recovered by SDSU -- yet was ruled down by contact, SDSU coach Brady Hoke challenged the ruling on the field, sending the play to the replay booth for review.
This was kind of a critical juncture in the game for both teams; at the time of the late third-quarter “fumble”, the Aztecs were trailing 17-14. Upon further review, BYU maintained possession and scored a touchdown on the same drive, going up 24-14 and ultimately holding on for a 24-21 win.
But that sequence of events never should’ve happened based on what a normal human being with a functioning set of eye balls can clearly see on the tape. The disputed call starts at the 1:43 mark of the video below, and would seemingly be an angle that was at the booth’s disposal:
Inexplicably, the booth confirmed the ruling on the field, which ultimately led to the suspension trifecta. And plenty of questions regarding the affiliation/loyalty of one of the three people in the booth.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, one of the three suspended individuals is BYU video coordinator Chad Bunn. That’s correct. One of the people in the booth, carrying a title of Mountain West technical advisor for the game, is an employee of one of the schools involved in the controversial non-call.
We’re not throwing stones or accusations or anything here, but something sure appears to be amiss, even if it’s simply a perception of something shady. Or, as Hoke said when informed that a BYU employee was involved, “I wouldn’t think that would be appropriate.”
Yeah, we wouldn’t think that would be appropriate either, coach.
(Tip O’ the Cap: The Wiz)