Pac-10 Refs Mysteriously Show up at Red River Rivalry Game

What in Bevo is going on?

Hey, refs occasionally get some calls wrong, but this crew of Red River Rivalry officials (why the heck did they remove "Shootout" from the title of this game?) were marching to the tune of Three Blind Mice.

A huge game with title game implications and the refs did everything possible to eff it up. Yup, Pac-10 officials must have heard there was a really good game on in Dallas, and switched places with the Big XII refs.

I would love to see this trio get marched out to center field with the Benny Hill theme song playing in the background. Then Bevo could brand their butts while Boomer and Sooner used them as a kitty litter tray.

Why the tirade, you ask?

Oklahoma was penalized for at least one bad personal foul call. Lewis was called for a late hit out of bounds when clearly, he was trying to hold up a Longhorn from getting hurt.

Can't the refs recognize a clear-cut case of football chivalry? Apparently not; they were too busy watching all the players on the Longhorn sideline tell them to throw the yellow hankie. And they obliged, of course.

Oklahoma also intercepted a McCoy pass in the endzone. The DB had clear control of the ball and only when he rolled on the turf did the ball come loose.

Instead of reviewing the play in the booth and taking a long, hard look at the play, the refs ruled the Sooner didn't have control of the ball before it popped loose. Of course not. The refs think the turf can cause a fumble.  

The Longhorns, of course, "quickly" lined up and kicked a field goal before the play could be reviewed.

Three blind mice...three blind mice...see how they run...see how they run....

But don't think the Sooners have been the only victim in this primetime showcase of bad officiating. Au contraire. The refs were an equal opportunity hoser in this game. Bless their little closed eyes and hearts.

The Sooners were the first ones to be given a gift by these striped rodents. Their first TD was a sham, even though instant replay revealed a knee was down about two feet short of the goal line.

If the touchdown had been overturned the Sooners would have had to settle for a FG since it was third down. But it wasn't, because after all, the refs were too busy watching the cameramen in the endzone signal touchdown.

The Sooners also got a conscience call from the refs for roughing the kicker on an ensuing series when Oklahoma wen three-and-out.

In an acting performance that even Vlade Divac would have applauded, punter Mike Knall flopped to the ground after getting hit by a wake of air from a Texas rusher.  Knall then grabbed his leg as if in agony.

Cue the refs to make another bad call of roughing the kicker, and hand out the best actor Oscar to Knall.

Which is more painful?

Watching Bob Stoops get ready for his post-game presser on the horrible officiating (only on his team, of course), or watching Mack Brown gleefully jump up and down like a 2-year-old and making a first-down gesture?

Watching the Sooners' secondary get more exposed than Paris Hilton on a Saturday night, or the refs finally calling an alleged Longhorns fourth-quarter TD short by two feet and reminding Horns fans how the Sooners didn't get that same play review when the Sooners "scored" on their first TD?

Watching Stoops finally define the "can't win the big games" label, or Brent Musberger finally get angry and hammer the officials while Kirk Herbstreit giggled?

Ah, college football rivalries. It seems to bring out the best in players and the worst in officials.

The best in offenses and the worst in secondaries.

And our knowledgeable pollsters awaiting.

Congrats to the Horns.

And to the Sooners? Cheer up, the Fiesta Bowl awaits with an undefeated Boise State lurking in your future.