Yesterday at a press conference, Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard came out and blasted the Big XII for its officiating that had "cost them games." With Head Coach Paul Rhodes behind him, he admitted that he'd likely be fined or penalized for his words, but that the jobs of Iowa St. employees are on the line; thus, he did not care if he was fined. This came just one day after Iowa State lost to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Just before halftime, referees made the determination that an Oklahoma State RB did not cross the goal line to leave the score at 6-6, but after reviewing the play they ruled it a touchdown to put OSU up one score.
I find this interesting for a couple reasons. First and foremost, the most glaring is the final score. The Cyclones didn't lose because of a controversial (if you even want to call it that) call that cost them one score. Iowa St. lost because of a terrible second half performance. They ended up losing by 17 points which further makes Pollard's point moot. Had they lost by less than 8, that argument would be justified, but when you come back out in the second half and get smashed you just sound like you're making excuses for losing. Furthermore, we're talking about a call that truly could have went either way. No mention was made from Pollard regarding the fact that the very next play in the game (the opening second half kickoff) was a 95 touchdown return for Oklahoma State or the fact that poor Kick Return fundamentals (OSU kicked off, ISU let's the ball roll around until OSU recovers) is what set-up the go ahead touchdown in the first place. It seems to me that instead of blaming officials one should figure out how to shore up the Special Teams blunders. Maybe Iowa State also has excuses for their blowout loss to Baylor as well? Maybe this is what Paul Rhodes meant when he was "so proud to be [their] coach."
Which brings me to my second point. The irony that Pollard and Rhodes are so upset with the Big XII makes me laugh. The reason? Several years ago when teams such as Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Texas A&M were all leaving for greener pastures, Iowa State was one of many schools quick to point the finger and ridicule teams as being "scared" when the truth is, these teams were tired of playing second fiddle to Dan Beebe and his beloved Longhorns. Now, years later the same crap that happened to Nebraska (:01 added to the clock for Texas) and Texas A&M (creation of the Longhorn Network) when Iowa State ridiculed them for leaving is happening to them and what does their AD and Head Coach do? Make excuses for getting blown out and call foul. Irony at its finest.
