Big Ten gets back at Notre Dame?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

You probably have figured it out by now, but for those who haven't, I'm a Notre Dame football fan.

So you can imagine my dismay at the 38-34 loss at the hands of Michigan on Saturday.

I am going to share a theory with you, but let me preface it with this: Michigan played one hell of a football game. Tate Forcier was ten times the player I thought - and probably Notre Dame thought - he would be in his second career game as a true freshman and the Michigan defense, despite giving up 34 points, was impressive in its ability to keep pressure on Jimmy Clausen in the second half.

With that said, it's conspiracy theory time.

Since the Big Ten media day - and even before that, really - there was a great deal of talk about expansion and a great deal of talk about that 12th team being Notre Dame. Now, Notre Dame has not been in discussions with the Big Ten about joining at all this decade, but with all the recent expansion talk, the team that snubbed the Big Ten way back when was the main topic of that conversation.

Now enter Notre Dame at Michigan for the first game of their Big Ten schedule. Last year, Notre Dame went 2-1 against Big Ten opponents - the same three teams they face this season. One of those wins was a 35-17 drubbing of the rebuilding Michigan squad.

This year, Michigan is better. Notre Dame is ranked 18th in the country. What better way to show the country that the Big Ten doesn't need the Irish than to have an unranked, unproven team beat them?

Here's where conspiracy comes in. The game is being played in the Big House, so Big Ten officials are calling the game. Mind you, Michigan is the only team on Notre Dame's schedule that insists on using Big Ten officials. For all other away games, Notre Dame brings Big East officials and visitors to Notre Dame stadium bring their conference's officials. It's pretty much how it works when teams from any conference visit an out-of-conference opponent. But not Michigan when they play the Irish.

ABC commentators Sean McDonough and Matt Millen spent most of the game talking about how the Big Ten referees had a big meeting about how they were going to put an "emphasis on holding calls" this year. And it showed. Many a flag were thrown in the game and big plays called back because of it. It killed the flow of the game and was highly irritating, but was pretty consistent throughout. However, with the game in the balance, the officials miss a blatant holding call. If you watch the replay (there are some hanging around out there that ABC and ESPN haven't squashed), you'll see the running back - I believe it was Minor - grab the blitzing linebacker and turn him. According to Millen, who explained the rule on a questionable holding call on the Irish earlier in the game, if a blocker gets his hands outside on a defensive player and twists him, it will be called a penalty. However, Michigan got a pass. And as a reult, they got a touchdown and a national ranking.

I'm not going to talk about some of the other questionable calls, like calling a celebration penalty on Armando Allen, but not on Michigan for leaving the bench, but specifically the phantom step out of bounds on Armando Allen's touchdown on a screen pass. The officials can't see the future. they can't know that four points was going to be the difference in the ball game. Yet it was a blown call on the replay. The sideline angle - which was the best one, not the one shot from the top of the stadium in the wrong side of the field - was inconclusive at worst and at best showed he never touched. In fact, the Big East officials that reviewed that tape have come to the defense of Notre Dame (and you know how rocky the relationship between the Big East and Notre Dame football is), saying there is no evidence he ever stepped out.

That's not to say all the blame in this game goes to the officials. On the field, Notre Dame made critical errors. And on the sidelines, Weis made the biggest of all, throwing with three minutes remaining on three-straight plays in a short yardage situation, allowing Michigan to conserve its timeouts. While Armando Allen was out of the game at that point with an ankle injury, wasn't one of the strengths of this team heading into the season the fact that they had three guys who could step in and run the football?

In any event, Weis passed and while he wanted a pass interference call on the defender draped all over Golden Tate, he got no help, and probably shouldn't have on that one. The rest is history. Michigan probably shouldn't have even been in a position to win the game, but thanks in large part to Weis' mismanagement, they were. But in the end, the officials just might have turned a blind eye to the holding they were so adament about calling all game long.