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No blown call in NCAA Football Championship game
Months later, 'Canes interference call looks right
July 16, 2003
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Terry Porter was right.
Six and a half months after the most controversial call of the Bowl Championship Series era, the Big 12 field judge has been vindicated. That's not going to please Miami players, fans and coaches who are still grinding their teeth over Porter's decision to signal pass interference against Miami defensive back Glenn Sharpe in the Fiesta Bowl.
Earlier this year Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said game films had been reviewed and that, in fact, Porter had made the right call. The Big Ten supervisor of officials, who is used by the NCAA to assign officials for bowl games, concurred this week. The problem is, few people saw the actual infraction. All the replays focused on Sharpe jumping for a ball in the end zone intended for Ohio State receiver Chris Gamble.
The penalty occurred on fourth-and-3 from the Miami 5 in the first overtime of Ohio State's 31-24 victory. At the line of scrimmage, Sharpe tried to "jam" Gamble and impeded his progress. When the official who apparently had the call in the end zone didn't make one, Porter came rushing from the back of the end zone to throw the flag four or five seconds after the play had ended.
"The timing of the flag might have looked not good," said Dave Parry, the Big Ten supervisor of officials, who works with the NCAA. "Terry was probably trying to be very thorough. He signaled a push for a defensive pass interference, then a signal for holding. There is a time lapse there. When the camera showed it they didn't see the line of scrimmage. They saw the downfield play about 7 or 8 yards."
Porter has been the subject of Miami fans' message board rants for months since the call. Miami's stance seems to be that while the call might have been right, it was inexcusable that Porter waited those pregnant seconds before throwing the flag after running from the back of the end zone.
"I replayed it in my mind," Porter said after the game. "I wanted to make double-sure that it was the right call."
Without saying it was the case, Parry said this week there could be have been a "small, small little downgrade" in Porter's evaluation for shoddy mechanics in waiting so long to make the call. Crews are assigned to the national championship game on a rotating basis. The crews are "all-stars" made up of the best official at each position in that conference.
A Big 12 crew was supposed to do the 2002 Rose Bowl but was delayed a year when Nebraska made the game. That allowed Porter and his mates a chance at the Fiesta Bowl. What bothered Porter and the Big 12 was a report that two letters of apology had been sent to conference schools after games Porter worked.
The Big 12 was upset by the report. Porter, a Stillwater, Okla., food broker, denied that was the case.
"I ain't talking about (the call)," Porter said brusquely this week when reached by phone. "You can call the Big 12 office."
Big 12 supervisor of officials Tim Millis, an NFL official himself, said this year that Porter would be NFL material if he were younger. Porter is in his mid-50s. Millis was out of the office this week and could not be reached.
"I talked to Terry about it," Parry said. "His view was the snuggle (contact) was right at the line of scrimmage. (Sharpe) took (Gamble's) shoulder away from him as he tried to get away. That's why he went with holding."
Jay Hansen, sports editor of the Mansfield (Ohio) News-Journal, was one of the few lay persons with a closeup look at the play. While everyone else was concentrating on the two players in the end zone, Hansen was watching the line of scrimmage from the floor of the Fiesta Bowl.
"From what I saw there was definitely contact," said Hansen, who had come down from the press box and was on the sideline near the end zone when the call was made.
"I thought it should have been holding. Gamble caught the defensive back on his heels. I was concentrating on Gamble. Definitely, in my opinion, there was a penalty on the play."
The view from South Florida is that the call cost the Hurricanes the national championship. Not even close. During that drive and before the call, Miami's vaunted defense allowed Ohio State to convert a fourth-and-14. A stop there would have won Miami its second consecutive national championship.
Even after the controversial call, it took the Buckeyes two plays to score from the Miami 1 in the first overtime to tie it. Then, after trailing 31-24 in the second overtime, Miami had four cracks at the tying (or eventual winning) score from the Ohio State 2.
On fourth down, Ken Dorsey crumbled in the face of a withering Ohio State rush and the upset was achieved. Porter was a stand-up guy, explaining the call after the game.
In retrospect, Miami, an 11-point favorite, had plenty of chances to put the game away and in the end was outplayed by an Ohio State team that was better prepared. And whether it takes five seconds or five minutes, they teach officials, above all, to get the call right. Porter did.
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