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in·dis·put·a·ble, adj.
beyond dispute or doubt; undeniable
Fifth-ranked Cincinnati beat* No. 25 West Virginia 24-21 Friday night under perfect skies in southern Ohio. If we can have an asterisk next to records tainted by doping, we can have an asterisk next to results tainted by blind replay officials.
With five minutes left in the first half, down 14-7, UC's Isaiah Pead reached for the goal line and lost control of the ball.
It wasn't a touchdown. It was a fumble.
The refs said so.
The announcers said so.
Lou Holtz said so.
Even Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly refused to call it an outright score when questioned at halftime.
Yet, somewhere up there in the box the replay team claimed to find indisputable video evidence that Pead did not fumble and, in fact, crossed the plane, bringing the score to 14-14.
What video were they watching?
ESPN's three different angles made it perfectly clear the call on the field was correct.
Usually, I'm not one to blame losses on refs. If you're playing well enough, one botched TD should not be a game-breaker.
This time, I'm not accepting the "play harder" line.
WVU did play harder. Bill Stewart's team held the undefeated Bearcats to 17 points (call in question notwithstanding), caused two turnovers (including the first lost fumble of UC's season), and executed a nearly perfect series with less then a minute left to bring the score to 24-21.
If the game were cleanly played and officiated, I'd tip my hat to Kelly's squad and wish them the best in their quest for a national title. If.
Instead, I'm calling out ESPN, the Big East, and/or the NCAA for orchestrating what amounts to a WWE performance.
This isn't the first example of an undefeated BCS contender getting an assist.
West Virginia, stand strong and file a formal inquiry.
If the conference fails to admit fault and discipline the replay team, a boycott would be appropriate.
Story: Andrea Nay
Photo: Getty Images
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