Officials played a big role in the 2004 Virginia Tech-USC game. (Ivan Morozov)
If you read my primer on the Fundamentals of Officiating, thanks for bearing with me as we explore the organized chaos that is officiating college football. If you haven’t read that yet, I’d strongly encourage you to check it out, as that piece lays the foundation for what we’re going to discuss today.
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We were sitting in the right corner of the stadium about half way up looking straight back down the sideline and had about the best angle possible. I saw Hyman’s arm barely brush the DB and remember thinking “uh oh we’re about to get robbed” of a great play and sure enough the hanky came out. It was a total BS call.
Exit8Hokie
Danny Coale caught that ball.
HokieCrazy1994
What irks me the most about re-watching this video is how badly the announcers handled it too. Like, just wear your USC jerseys while you're broadcasting the game already. "Might have saved an interception..." WTF are you talking about???
Hokie1992
Terrible call and terrible announcing. The “might have save an interception” comment is totally unfounded. On further review, the one announcer seems to get it. The defender never sees the football. A small amount of contact as Hyman positions for the catch. But the defender has no idea the ball is coming. Also as noted, the other refs just accept an incorrect offensive PI call even they correctly saw no foul.
TechHokie13
To your last point, I left this out because I really have no way of knowing how things were run back then, but I have a suspicion that today's officials have a much stronger culture of communication and teamwork. "Don't fish in someone else's pond" was (and to some extent still is) a common criticism, but these days, officials are supposed to piece together bits of information from their own perspectives to get the call right, rather than just assuming the guy who flagged it had a perfect look and got it right. Again, pure speculation on my part, but that's my hunch.
hokies7778
I was there and in a club box with a direct sight line on the play. I still have this play etched in my mind after all these years. I’m an old school grad and this play still ranks as the worst hosing a Tech football team has ever experienced.
4VaTech
This just pisses me off all over again!
And Coale made the catch!
jboyhokie
I think I'm correct in saying that USC also finished #1 that year.
No_Limit_Hokie
I think so. And of course we also lost to undefeated Auburn as well to end the season. The other loss that season was at home to NC State due to a barely missed field goal at the end, and I believe the ball for that play was spotted a yard or two further back than it should have been, which could have made the difference.
Gobbler`s Roost Hokie
I'm really looking forward to you doing the strip fumble that was called a first down in the Belk Bowl against Kentucky.
No_Limit_Hokie
Ouch. Bad memory. Their QB starting in on us before the game... ugh.
IB4TECH
You're are already one of my favorite refs. Let's see what next week brings. ; )
I love this column.
Hokies93
I was at the game and it shifted the dynamic big time. I also remember that the stadium folks did NOT replay it on the big screen. My brother and I kept waiting for it and they never showed it. We had to wait until we got back to the hotel to see SportsCenter before we saw it. Terrible call that shouldn't have been called then and would never be called now in the era of back shoulder throws.
OttawaHokie
Interesting that you have used the terms "Good" and "Bad" call. I think most Evaluators and evaluations use the term " Correct " or " Incorrect Call ". Takes away the subjective aspect of when a call was made.
And then can be easily taken to the next step of evaluations, such as Correct Non-Call or Incorrect Non Call.
TechHokie13
I make no claims to be an evaluator :)
For a historical take like this, it's actually much more difficult for me to give a "correct" or "incorrect" assessment. The game has just changed too much, and I'm bringing a modern approach to it, so I'm less inclined to take this verdict too seriously.
For the in-season assessments, I may stick closer to an evaluator' assessment, but I also might not, just in the interest of making the piece accessible. Still very much deciding how I want to present these, so thanks very much for sharing your thoughts!
VT Trainman
Dang that is good stuff right there. I love this zebra point of view.
2hhoop3
A terrible call when it was made and no better after all these years.
DaytonaHokie
You are correct about the blood pressure. I will never ever forget that one or the end zone touchdown against Michigan that was called back.
Cheesehokie
I suggest that atrocity be the next topic for analysis
Austin Gobbler
Yes, I would call the Danny Coale "catch" in the Sugar Bowl the most egregious "bad" officiating call in VT football history. I was at that game and had seats in the end zone where the catch was made and then overturned. That decision seemed to change the outcome of the game IMHO.
B Hokie
Danny Coale caught that ball!
Twincountyhokie
Have not seen this play in years but you are right. It got my blood pressure up all over again. What an atrocious,potentially outcome changing mistake.
HokieBrian
Watching it years later it still is not close, the defensive back ran by the play and was totally lost. It was joke then and is still now. Michael Irvin had 0 catches and deserved a PI every time it was threw his way if judged by these standards. If OJ was Hokie he would have been guilty. It probably should be forfeit away I am sure Pete was cheating somehow that year.
SaltvilleChuck
I’m curious about your thoughts on the Dax targeting call versus Notre Dame. What makes me upset is most targeting calls the ref is under the hood watching the replay for a few minutes, but in Dax’s case it was reviewed a few seconds. Seemed predetermined to me.
TechHokie13
Definitely could be a candidate for a bye week or something. Targeting in college kinda sucks (hot take, I know). The high school rule is actually a lot better for the simple reason that it isn't an automatic ejection.
This allows us as officials to use our discretion to differentiate between sloppy technique and the cheap shots we need to get out of the game. If the NCAA made that change, it'd make things a heck of a lot better. I'd argue it's better for player safety because you allow the player to stay in the game and make the correction, rather than just being booted and slipping back to old habits the next time they're in a full-contact situation.
VTownie
100%. HS rule is much better. You know the bad o es when you see them. It would be much better to say that’s a 15 yard variety instead of the ejection and 2 qtr suspension.
cdogvt
Ok, I am annoyed all over again. I just got over this horrible call. I was at the game and remember the exaltation when the catch was made, saying something to the effect of "we got this, we are going to beat USC!!". Then the flag, crappy call, the deflation, then slow steady change in momentum.
One thought - is there an equivalent bad call that went our way?? I am sure there is some cognitive blocker I have, but I honestly only remember this play, Danny Coale's call, and so on. I don't remember these types of calls going our way - where a really clear bad call went our way and not our competitor. Can anyone think of one ?
VTVOICE
This was clearly a bad call. I guess no instant replay at the time? I suspect the official made no eye contact with CFB because he winged that one, or was making up for a previous play that should have gone USC's way. It is also possible that the official was biased either by USC conference affiliation or giving a blue blood, or home team the benefit of the doubt. So ... for a future article, how much does bias play into an official's call blunder?
hokies5007
Love this series! I was actually thinking of asking for top 5 most controversial ref calls in VT history in Friday Q&A or mailbag. Sounds like it’ll be covered here
4Hokies
I was at both games. That and the Danny Coale call were two of the worst calls in VT history. Both against top tier teams and both affected the outcome of the games. Winning those games would have continued to elevate VT at a faster rate, especially the USC game.
hokies5007
Yep…those are the two that came to my mind first too. Even though I thought it was a catch, Michigan call was especially egregious because they overturned the call on the field
Hokester
I would like to get Tristan's take on how much the perception of a team or a player is involved in a call. For many of us it seems as though the name on the jersey does make a difference. In the case at hand USC being the national brand that it is got the benefit of the call. Same thing with the Sugar Bowl and Danny Coale. Michigan got the benefit of the call because they are a media darling. What's also interesting about the Coale call is that the replay officials were from the PAC 12. Where were the USC/VT game officials from?
tysonjahn
Can someone post the a link to the Fundamentals article?
Chris Coleman
https://virginiatech.sportswar.com/subscription/2023/08/24/ask-a-back-judge-fundamentals-of-officiating/
And I'll go back and link it in the article.
jfhokie
I was there and I told my buddy at the time that it was either going to be offensive pi or no call. Unfortunately it was the latter and it affected the game
herndonvahokie
Am I thinking of a different different situation, isn’t this the same game where a USC player created a blatant act of offensive pass interference and didn’t get called. Am I remembering correctly or just imagining things.
dgvracer
You are correct.
dgvracer
You are correct. If I remember correctly, it was in the 4th qtr and happened at almost the exact same location on the field. We punted after our offensive PI penalty, and in the 4th qtr USC scored a TD after the no call on them. It was a 14 point swing assuming we scored a TD on that third qtr series…minimum of a 10 point swing.
Dan S.
The USC call is up there but the Michigan call tops all.
vtgreg
How much does the way the game was officiated back in that period impact this call? I don't think there is any chance that flag gets thrown in today's game but it's much more pro offense and passing game now versus 20 years ago.
Hokie67
Couldn't believe the call - as I watched from my room at the Bryce Canyon Inn. Mentioning the Danny catch makes it hurt even more - as I watched that from a bar in Key West.
133402Hokie
I was there. Totally clean. It made a difference in the game for sure.
Rock Haven Hokie
I still don’t like it!
omhokiefan
I have always remembered this play, especially when watching similar plays a hundred times since, without a pass interference call. It was a momentum changer. I believe losing this game was the beginning of the end of VT being a top five program.
TomTurkey
Will be a good series. I recall a Miami pushoff and reception to win. Still ranked me.
HolidayInnHokie
VT also pretty clearly committed defensive PI in the infamous ‘95 game at Lane, toward the end. It didn’t get called, somehow. I think most officials watching that replay believe it was a bad no call, in VT’s favor.
CapeCodHokie
That's an old scab that just got ripped open.
Years later it became known as a back shoulder throw and it's never called OPI.
133671Hokie
Next up - Michigan sugar bowl, Danny coale or is that the last one you do to make us all mad at the climax. :)
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