The reveille of whistles that were blown during the Oklahoma State/Texas game didn’t play the most melodic of tunes for either sideline as the officiating crew that decided to partake in calling the game were victims of criticism and backlash.
The onslaught of bad calls concentrates on the lack of love for the Longhorns, who were penalized 16 times, which is just one spat short of equaling the number of pass attempts by Jerrod Heard.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State manufactured only seven penalties for one-third the yardage that Texas faced (40 vs. 128).
What’s even less to cheer about for Longhorn Nation is the fact that three of the sixteen blown calls were proven to be critical turning points in the outcome: two touchdowns reversed and an overruled interception.
VIDEO: @ATXANT10's angle of Charlie Strong's late game 15yd personal foul penalty. Appears to make contact w official pic.twitter.com/zaRdtQjXHJ
— Adam Winkler (@AdamWinkSports) September 27, 2015
Big 12 coordinator of officials, Walt Anderson, referred to the penalties as correct and the punishments, including a Texas possession brought back for 15 yards, were served with the right amount of justice.
Asked for grade the Texas-OSU official crew got, Anderson said "We don’t share any of that, not at liberty to say which calls were wrong.
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 29, 2015
Alan Eck, one of the game’s officials, was remarked as unfavorable to the Longhorns, since his past officiating records show he’s partial to the color yellow when dealing with Texas, reprimanding the team an average of 13.5 times.
It does remain unknown, however, whether or not Alan Eck’s crew will officiate another Texas game this season.
In 10 Big 12 games, referee Alan Eck's officiating crew flagged Texas an avg of 13.5 times/106.5 yards. Other crews avg. = 5.75 flags/50 yds
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) September 28, 2015
Big 12 officiating supervisor Walt Anderson says he doesn't know if Alan Eck crew will work another Texas game this year.
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 29, 2015
Anderson says he works "three weeks ahead on the officials' schedule" and will not make any scheduling public.
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 29, 2015
Another dilemma arose when a penalty was called on behalf of Charlie Strong’s accidental contact with a referee, but when it came down to reasoning with the call, an official deemed it – not for unsportsmanlike conduct – but for other reasons.
Walt Anderson didn't want to go into specifics but did say that Charlie Strong's unsportsmanlike penalty was not for bumping the official.
— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) September 29, 2015
Asked if he thought the line judge baited or crowded Charlie Strong, Walt Anderson said, "I think that'd be an unfair statement."
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 29, 2015
Asked why Charlie Strong was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, Anderson said, "Some things were said that rose to that level."
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 29, 2015
It’s safe to say that being a Longhorns fan has seen its glory days, but a mix-and-match of missed/inappropriate calls by the officiating crew is certainly another reason to sulk in Austin.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
