An in-depth investigation by Big Ten head of officials Bill Carollo and the Chicago Tribune determined that there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the spot on J.T. Barrett’s 4th-and-1 rush during Ohio State’s 30-27 double overtime victory against Michigan on Nov. 26. That, among other things from the epic battle between the two rivals were debunked in columnist Teddy Greenstein's deep look into The Game's manifest.
Here is a breakdown of the second-to-last play of the game, just before Curtis Samuel raced around left end untouched and into the end zone to send the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff:
And on the game's most controversial play — The Spot — Barrett was ruled on the field to have broken the plane of the 15-yard line when a Michigan defender contacted him. The ruling was close enough, Carollo said, that whatever was called on the field would not have been overturned by replay.
Greenstein did unearth that a few calls went against the Wolverines, like when officials missed a pair of fouls on Ohio State defenders on a third-and-7 play in the first quarter. From the story:
Now for a closer version of the truth: There was one egregious no-call, as bad a whiff as the officials had at any moment of this Big Ten season. On third-and-7 in the first quarter, Michigan's Amara Darboh got fouled twice on one play — defensive holding and pass interference — and neither penalty was called. What makes it worse is he was the intended receiver.
Officials also missed a potential unnecessary roughness flag on Mike Weber after Jabrill Peppers intercepted J.T. Barrett in the third quarter.
Just as Peppers was being tackled, Ohio State's Mike Weber decked Michigan cornerback Brandon Watson, who was standing nearby, not involved.
The angst that followed from both Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and Wolverines fans bled across all channels of the Internet in the moments immediately after Samuel's game-winning touchdown run. Harbaugh stoked that fire with his assuredness that Barrett was short of the line to gain, in addition to the other missed penalties. It led to him famously saying he was "bitterly disappointed" in the officiating that afternoon.
It also led to a radio station called The Michigan Insider tweeting out Carollo's contact information with multiple hashtags trying to cause him to lose his job.
From the column:
Spurred on by Harbaugh and perhaps the video, a radio station with more than 37,000 Twitter followers tweeted out Carollo's work phone number and extension with #FireBillCarollo and #BoycottB1GEvents. A security company is reviewing the threatening voice mails Carollo received.
Additionally, Greenstein spoke to Carollo about the speculation that officials fixed the game in Ohio State's fair due to multiple officials being from the state of Ohio. There is a YouTube video detailing such "fixes," with one of them centered around official Bobby Sagers, an Ohio native, tapping running back Mike Weber on the butt. Not the best look but wholly inaccurate.
Here's what makes the video so ridiculous: It includes a clip of an official patting Weber on the behind with "Bobby Sagers; Cincinnati, Ohio; Buckeyes Fan" burned above.
The official is not Sagers, according to Carollo. It's Brian Bolinger, who is from Indiana.
The states where officials that called that game are from: Indiana 4, Ohio 3, Michigan 3, Illinois 1 and Pennsylvania 1.
Yet another chapter in the greatest rivalry in all of sport.
