Barking Carnival's Scipio Tex Claims Game Was Fixed

I know. Barking Carnival is really out there but, the article was striking. Hopefully someone smarter than me can insert a link... Perhaps it was tongue in cheek but, it did not seem like it.

An excerpt:

"Let's be very clear: We didn't watch incompetence. We just watched corruption. The question is -- what kind?"

 

This is a very good article which expresses my observations well. The calls made were consistent, targeted, and effective in altering the outcome of the game. Think I'm just suffering from sour grapes? Read the article and then watch the tape. Then get back to me.

 

The BC article:

Phantom Calls From Corrupt Officiating Crew Buries Texas Longhorns

 

Wow, Does Stevie P have that much pull? Jk ha!

 

I honestly believe it was just incompetence. The bad calls circulated through the entire crew, from the ref to the umpire to the back judge. To pull off something that massive... I'm not buying. It's not like keeping Texas from a win (or even covering a 5-point spread, which we did) would have any massive gambling implications either.

 

T Boone has deep pockets and long arms.

 

Incompetence or purposeful, it doesn't really matter. That crew is wretched and should never work another college football game ever again.

 

Paul Wadlington, "Scipio Tex," Editor-In-Chief at FanTake LLC (the company that Paul sold Barking Carnival to several years ago) ande who lives in San Francisco these days, should be writing fiction novels. He's certainly qualified to do so.

He has a hard-on for Charlie and is much more biased than the officials he accuses.

Yes, there were some bad calls by the officiating crew tonight, and most of them went against Texas, but those weren't the reasons Texas lost the game.

Going for it on 4th and 10 at one's own 40 yard line? That's bush league beyond belief! And it altered Texas' field position for the entire 4th quarter and was the reason OSU was in a position to kick that winning field goal at the end of that quarter. Charlie is responsible for that unbelievably idiotic decision.

And not managing the clock at the end of the game to keep the ball away from OSU (or substantially minimizing the seconds left on the clock) so that Texas could go into overtime in front of the home crowd. That's bush league. We're seeing the same pattern of inept head coaching mistakes that we saw during much of last year. Remember UCLA in Dallas?

And Charlie, who has all those "core values," and is such a nice guy that he reads to his teenage daughters each evening, needs to get control of his own emotions and stop costing his team games.

The reality is that Charlie Strong is unfit for this level, and we continue to see obvious evidence of that. He's a nice guy (most of the time, except when he gets into one of his rants, when he thinks nobody is nearby, and shouts out his expletive-laced interest in going back to Florida), but he simply isn't prepared for this job. And lots of other programs figured that out for many years. That's why they didn't hire him to head their programs. Powers hired both Patterson and Charlie in a fit of incredibly bad judgment. What incredibly inept hires.

A Tier II football coach with only four years of head coaching experience should never have been hired to the top coaching job at the University of Texas at Austin. Powers clearly hired Strong for reasons other than that he was a great football coach. I heard Bill talk for almost an hour about what a great person Charlie was; not once did he talk about what a great football coach he was.

This head coach and his staff are clusters beyond all clusters. Perrin should fire his *** now -- before he can do further damage to Texas' football future. But for obvious (but totally irrational) reasons, he won't. Strong will have to further destroy this program and make it much more difficult to recover from before anybody at Texas will have the guts to pull the trigger on this incompetent.

 

Marley, you have documented your hate for Charlie Strong on many threads here since the hire was made. I guess you're pleased to see today's bad officiating supporting your cause.

 

Your judgment is flawed, and you mistake my desire to see competent coaching as "hate."

People like you typically regard any criticism as "hate." That's total ********, and you know it.

I don't hate Strong; I admire the moral man he is. I simply think he's WAY over his head and should never have been offered the job. And I thought that from the time his hire was announced. Red McCombs agrees with me, BTW.

I actually feel sorry for Charlie since he has no clue what he is doing at this level. And I think all the evidence to date supports my contention. I hired lots of executives during my career. I would NEVER have hired a green head coach like Strong to head up a program like Texas. It's like hiring the owner of a local machine shop to head General Motors. Strong simply didn't have the credentials/resume to ever be given this job.

 

I always hated Nebraska fans when they said we wuz robbed by the refs. I can't do it. You have to overcome the obstacles in your way to win. The calls even out over time is generally the saying. Iowa State, OSU, Kansas with the fatman, games over the years had many of the same BS I hear from our fans today. (with all due respect)

This team needs to learn how to finish the games, win the games. They are finally being competitive in the games. Sucks to say that and I'm not satisfied.

 

Refs don't make a hill of beans if the coaches had the players playing at the right level. It's BS to use the refs card as an excuse.

 

This team does need to learn how to finish. However, this crew produced/took away a RIDICULOUS amount of points, and momentum. And I still dont understand the 15 yards on Strong. Guilty conscience so he threw the flag because he knew Strong was right? This is sickening.

 

You keep saying Strong cant coach at this level. What level is that exactly? Division 1? Hes proven he can coach at the D1 level. What other coach was out there that we could have hired instead that would have met your exacting standards?

The refs took at TD off the board from what was clearly a lateral. They gave Ok State first downs when they didnt deserve them, and you complain about Strong having some spine and yelling at the official when he gets sick of it? Would you have preferred a Mack or Jack Pardee clap clap clap? And was it Strong's fault Rose shanked the extra point or Dickson mishandled the snap on the punt?

Agreed, your dislike of Strong is very strong, pun intended. Im glad Red McCombs agrees with you. Clap clap clap. Red sure did make it very clear he didnt like Strong, and not in the most flattering way if we all remember. Not sure hes the best name to throw out there.

 

This game isn't on the coaching.

 

He probably means an elite football conference as strong was in a dying conference that featured teams like temple.

Mack's last season was an 8 win season in which we competed for a Big 12 title clap clap clap. Only one losing season in 16 years clap clap clap. Only one season with less than 8 wins in 16 years clap clap clap. Mack would have fantastic comebacks in the 4th that would result in wins, not terrible clock management leading to giving away games clap clap clap.

Red said Strong would make a better coordinator. Strong decided to start with shawn watson and no special teams coach at all. Red said we could get Harbaugh. Harbaugh returned to college coaching. I do not even like the used car salesman who has very low reputation in san antonio. However, so far he has not been proven incorrect. What amazes me, is you complain about mack and how things were terrible but you hold 7-10 charlie strong to the completely low standard of "i just want to see improvement even if we lose." Why do you hold mack and charlie to different standards? I bet if Mack had followed the 2010 5-7 season with a 1-3 start in 2011, he would have been gone in 2012.

 

After watching the play in slow motion I can see where Ford grabs the shoulder pad of the of one of the lineman, BUT! the lineman was trying to block him!!!!! he WAS NOT trying to run past him. The only example I can find on a defensive lineman holding is where the defender tackles the O-lineman, I mean grabs him by the legs and tackles him as he is running away from him. This was a deliberate call to advance the drive for OSU as the hold on the o-lineman had no impact on him running past Ford, what did stop him from running past Ford was the fact that he was blocking Ford. That was a knee deep chicken fried chicken **** call and the ref knows it.

 

I have a hypothesis on the officiating.

Every coaching staff in college and pros coaches their players to use techniques where they can hold and not get called for a penalty. Some coaches push it more over the line than others. I think that Texas's coaching staff has pushed this bending of the rules way over the line and the calls we got against OSU are the results. On very many of those holding calls, we were in fact blatantly holding. The refs see this throughout the game and it causes them to have a hair trigger on the flags for us. That is when we get the obviously phantom defensive holding call in the 4th quarter.

There was one specific play that highlighted this for me and gave me a very sour feeling about the techniques our players are being coached to use. In the third quarter there was a play where one of our H-back types was lined up in the slot and went out for a pass. When he got to the defender he immediately grabbed his jersey and yanked it down, almost making the defender fall. This gave him a nice 5 yards of separation, and he caught a pass and gained 20+ yards. It was blatant holding, but it was not called for a penalty.

I realize basically every team does it to some extent, but I think we have gone past the gray area in the rules at this point, to where we are actively committing obvious penalties, and just hoping not to get flagged. Its an OL with arms inside getting his hands under the shoulder pads vs hands outside the shoulder pads grabbing a handful of jersey on both sides. Its a receiver with a hand check on the body vs a full arm extension push off. Its a receiver with a push down on a forearm vs grabbing a hand full of jersey and yanking down. I don't like us operating on the far end or past the gray area of the rules.

Maybe it's an act of desperation by the coaching staff. Like screw it, we are going to do this extra stuff to gain an advantage. We will get more penalties, but then if we lose we can blame the refs.

I know this is getting to be a broken record, but I blame the coaches for this too.

 

The ref. the coaches and the offense all had a hand in another loss. Another game like this and I might join the Strong is in over his head crowd.

 

I've been thinking this exact thing since we've been blowing it in the 4th quarter so often.

 

Longbomb your hypothesisis 100% dead wrong on the defensive hold call. #74 was lined up across from Ford and made the first contact and continued to block him until #73 double teamed Ford and wrapped his arms around Ford, this was offensive holding in every aspect of the game.

Once you make contact on the line of scrimmage the defender is allow to use his hand in any way possible to avoid the block as long as he does not poke an eye out or kick someone. The only time it is holding is if the player is trying to RUN PAST you and you grab them. By making the first block on Ford in a double team Ford had every right within the rules to grab the blocker. The coaches DID NOT teach him how to get away with a holding it is how the game is played and it was within the rules. #73 was pushing Ford toward inside and forced the direction of the play it was not because Ford was holding.

Why you would try to put this call on the coaches is beyond me.

 

How about --officiating was fixed and the coaching was bad

 

The "clap clap clap" was in reference to saying that Strong shouldnt have been upset. Arguing that Strong should have not done anything at that point is subjective at best, but using it as ammunition against him when the officiating had been suspect the entire game is below the belt. Strong didnt do anything more than what Ive seen dozens of other coaches do when a call was that poor.

The standard I hold Strong to is one where the starting QB Mack had his last year was done for the season after the 1st game, and the starting center was done after the first game, and several players were kicked off the team for entirely good reasons. A new coach with a brand new QB, brand new offensive line, change of philosophy etc is why I dont hold Strong to the same standard. What QB did Mack leave for Strong in case Ash got hurt? No one. Again, anyone who doesnt think this team is being rebuilt from the ground up is a moron. Look at how many freshmen were making plays out there yesterday. Our best players are arguably our youngest, and you want to hold Strong to the same standard as Mack? Really? The oldest players on this team, the ones who should be the leaders and the best players, but arent, are all Mack's players.

And you want to hold Strong to the same standard? Get out of here. If anyone should understand patience and foresight, it should be the posters here who brag about knowing Red McCombs and DKR and being around 40 years ago.

Red McCombs is like Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows stuff, but the reality is hes just really rich and wants to be in the middle of everything.

So you think Harbaugh was coming to Austin? Is that it? You think Saban was coming to Austin? Are you just upset because your choice for HC didnt come here? Unless you are The Big Cigar and you know for a fact that either of two guys were about to sign on the dotted line and come to Texas, then please, dont talk about how there were better options than Strong.

When your freshmen class is out making plays, and the juniors and seniors are being beaten, that should tell you something.

Three years. If Texas doesnt win at least 8 games next year, then Charlie should be gone. But all the sabre rattling and poo pooing when everyone knows this team is super young and the freshmen are running the show is just poor form. The work continues.

 

MACK DID LOSE ASH IN 2013. Applewhite spent all offseason getting ready to have a semi spread offense with Ash (transitioning to a full spread with Swoopes and Heard in the future). Applewhite was forced to adjust his offense to the immobile Case McCoy. The difference between Mack Brown, Applewhite and Watson is Brown and Applewhite adjusted their offense to their backup QB. Watson NEVER ADJUSTED his offense to the strengths of Swoopes. He tried to plug both Swoopes and Heard into his offense. Norvell and Traylor have adjusted the offense to the QBs they have (and props on Strong for brining them in). Hell, they even are now maximizing Swoopes' talent with the wildcat and doing so successfully. Watson never played to the strength of Swoopes or tried to get the most out of him. Mack fired his defensive coordinator after game 2, lost his starting QB and won 8 games.

Mack left Heard and Swoopes. They were spread QBs. Charlie brought in an OC that only knew a pro style offense and could not make adjustments to the strengths of his personnel or at halftime.

Vahe, Heard and Foreman are Mack Brown recruits. The only starters on offense that are Charlie Strong recruits are Connor Williams and John Burt. Strong was unable to keep a QB recruit in Zach Gentry. Harbaugh walked right up and stole him with no problem. Most of the defensive players are Mack Brown recruits. Malik Jefferson is the one good Charlie Strong recruit right now. Poona Ford, the weak link of the defensive line, is a Strong recruit. The punter who dropped the ball is a Strong recruit. Please name an impact Charlie Strong recruit other than Malik. So your first assumption is false.

There was one. His name was Mack Brown. That's who I wanted.

What freshmen recruit by Strong other than Malik? Name them.

You prove my post about the low standards. Mack started over after 2010. Our fanbase demanded a national title in year 3 (2013). Our fans were not happy with a 9 win season and bowl victory of a top 15 team in 2012. However, Charlie Strong only has to achieve 8 wins in year 3? Not even 9 or 10? Talk about a culture change of lower standards.

 

oh Okay... I see now you're not biased

Kinda like saying you felt sorry for George W Bush because he was an incompetent boob
or you feel sorry for Obama because he's a Muslim Kenyan socialist.

 

You misunderstood my post. I never said the defensive hold call was a correct call. I even specifically called it "the obviously phantom defensive holding call." That defensive holding call was a bad call.

What I am saying is that we were getting called for holding the entire game, and on many of those calls we were guilty of blatant holding. I even gave an example where we held and did not get called. The refs watch us hold all game and it makes them biased against us to where they are quicker to throw a flag if they think they see something questionable. I think the players are being coached to hold too much based on the amount of actual holding I saw us doing in the game.

 

My apologies, Vahe and Heard were Mack recruits. He did good there. But Strong had to hold on to those guys, and he did. Holton Hill and Chris Boyd have played well, as has Connor Williams and Malik and John Burt of course. I dont need to go down the list, but we are playing a ton of freshmen, who are outperforming their older counterparts, and again who Strong had to convince to still come to Texas.

Case McCoy wasnt a true freshman when Ash got hurt the first time either btw. Gentry left to go to Michigan largely because Strong said he was moving away from the pro style offense that Gentry was expecting. Watson convinced Strong that he could handle a spread offense, and after the ND game it was apparent that Watson wasnt going to do the job. ND btw looks like a legit top 10 team.

We can make assumptions all we want, but the reality is that Swoopes was not the answer, and I dont think Major or Mack would have had better results with him under center. Redshirting Heard was always the plan to build depth.

This is a very young, but very talented team. I say 8 wins next year because this team will have a lot of sophmores with a lot of experience. We have some very talented freshmen coming in next year already, i.e. Collin Johnson, and if Charlie can get a class as talented as this one, with a year under their belt, then winning 8 games is a reasonable expectation. More would be nice of course. Year 4, now with very experienced juniors, solid sophmores and another great freshmen class is when I expect to contend for a playoff spot.

Youre right, Mack was flirting with 8 win seasons, and that wasnt good enough, but we made a major change, and then the bottom fell out with the injuries last year. Swoopes just wasnt ready or good enough to handle the pressure. This year we lost the defensive leadership and that has to be rebuilt. We are where we are, and its not Strong's fault that the talent level at the junior and senior level isnt good enough.

 

As a former DT, I've never played in a game on any level in my life that included a defensive holding by a lineman on a run play.

To get that flag you'd have to blatantly grab a guy by the horsecaller and yank him to the ground...or jump at his legs and tackle him and continue to hold them. It would really have to be that insanely noticeable and blatant to draw that rare call. ESPECIALLY when the fate of ballgame hangs in the balance.

There's no way that call was made from incompetence. Refs aren't used to calling that or even considering it on a run. The only way it comes to mind is if some absurd version of it happens. And none of that happened, not even a little inside hold like an OL does on half his plays and hides it. That sh*t was purposely fabricated. There is no way around it.

When I heard the call I didn't know if Poona did or didn't grab the guy, all I could say was "a DT holding on a run play, wtf is that?". Even if there had been a hold (which there wasn't) it's still that foreign and chickensh*t of a call when a game is being decided.

Good refs actually work harder to make sure they don't even call borderline penalties that will decide a game. This POS made that call up. Then a ref leans into an irrate Strong and flagged him too.

That one down with two fabricated, bullsh*t penalties handed OSU the winning points, no other way to see it. And that's not letting Strong off the hook, it's just the truth.

 

I have no idea, but the allegation is very believable.

And no need for false dichotomies. We should have played better. We made lots of mistakes. OSU also should have played better and made lots of mistakes. I don't know if we win or lose with fair refs, I really don't. But numerous drastic errors did have a direct impact on the game.

Nope. The concept of sour grapes is completely unrelated to this discussion. If you said "I didn't care about winning the game anyway, so who cares about OSU winning?" then it would be sour grapes.