That injury was nasty..... the close-up on his reaction afterward wasn't fun either.

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nuts. Now I wish I hadn't tuned in.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

fresno state: taking pride in a field that a pig farmer wouldn't use.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Complete screwjob.

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You know me like that.

Yeah. The refs totally let Fresno get that 16-0 lead halfway through the 1st quarter.

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It's true. That was their fault.

But the end was a joke.

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You know me like that.

and midmajors can't figure out why big teams won't schedue them.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

The officiating was bad.

I assume it was WAC officials. I never understand why inter-conference games have home ref crews. Either have the road crew for each home/home series, or hire refs from a 3rd league (which seems like the obvious choice to me).

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So is NIU still the best team in the state?

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

yes to both.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

what state? Wyoming?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

You couldn't be further off on this. It has nothing to do with the officiating.

First off - "midmajor" is a basketball term. Second, they don't schedule non-BCS teams because there is little to gain from doing so. The most 'influential' thing that can happen for the BCS team is a loss. A win doesn't mean much in terms of their standing/ranking because the system is so screwed up.

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The gap is narrowing.

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my bad...I meant the field. Sorry.

I remember when NIU knocked off Maryland and then were surprised when nobody wanted to come to NIU to play them.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Ah, sorry. Yes the field was terrible. I'd be interested to hear what Fresno has to say about it's condition.

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Illinois might be pretty good next year if Leshoure was coming back.

Too bad that won't happen.

He'll take some 3rd round money.

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You know me like that.

I'm telling you...Illinois needs Mike Leach. The Big Ten needs Mike Leach.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

No, officiating is another reason teams won't play these fucking cow colleges at their own damn stadium. Northwestern and MSU swore off WAC road games after debacles in Hawaii. Illinois should have done the same. Live and learn. They play eight home games next season, and the only time they should leave Memorial Stadium from here on out should be for BCS out of conference games and bowl matchups. Never again.

Forget about the iffy personal foul, which was borderline and can at least be justified as being a make-up call for the previous noncalls. Forget about the absolutely unplayable field conditions, because both teams have to play on it. Forget even about the horrible review on 4th down that pretty much handed Fresno State the game (yes, Illinois would have had to pick up about 20 yards, but they had moved the ball the entire 2nd half).

Forget about all that. Why in the world did Ron Zook have to challenge that play? We're told that every play in college football is reviewed, and there was a ton of time between the 4th down and the next play (they had to measure). How is that automatically reviewed? The fact that the refs did not automatically flag that play for review is a complete joke.

Then, just to rub a little salt on the wound (no pun, unfortunately), one of Illinois's better defensive players suffers an awful injury on the very next play, a play for which he should never have had to be on the field. This stuff happens, and I'm not going to blame that on the ref. What I WILL blame on the ref--the very same ref that made that awful spot--is complete callousness as he hams it up with Pat Hill on the sideline while a player in obvious agony is writhing on the ground.

The season is about as good as could have been expected with a redshirt freshman quarterback and the turmoil over the offseason: a bowl game and .500 record in the Big Ten. There were no embarrassing losses in there, and every Big Ten win was by over 20 points.

Five bucks says there are WAC refs at the Texas Bowl.

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Fire Phil Emery

Zook didn't have to challenge the call at the end of the game it was reviewed by the booth. Sure they got fucked on that play but don't fall behind 16-0 to Fresno St.

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No it wasn't. The official specifically said that "Illinois challenges the ruling on the field" and Illinois lost a TO afterwards. It was not a booth review.

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Fire Phil Emery

I thought the first timeout was used when the guy fucked his leg up?

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Injury wasn't inside of two minutes, so they didn't lose a timeout there. I just watched it over, and it was definitely a challenge by Illinois.

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Fire Phil Emery

Fair enough, I was in a bar and there was no sound.

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The officiating crews aren't a surprise to any team, ever. That's part of the contract worked out when the teams agree to play. If the conference they come from isn't an issue when you sign the contract, then it shouldn't be an issue afterward. It was also noted during the game that the officiating was bad both ways, not just in favor of Fresno.

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Just read that Thomas' leg wasn't broken and he was walking around the locker room. Can't believe that.

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You know me like that.

I forgot about this one from two years ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPVD_gmY1w
Listen to the last fifteen seconds as well. Turns out Fresno State won't play home games without WAC officials.

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Fire Phil Emery

You were pretty close Dr. Ken.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

There is a good 5 page spread on Mike Leach in This weeks Sporting News. He is definitely an interesting guy. Lives in Key West & doesn't own a car...rides his bike everywhere...Lawyer...never played college football. The list five schools where he could end up...Minnesota, Arizona State, Rice, Washington State, & Indiana.
I'm not the biggest Illinois fan, but I would be if they hired Leach.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

You've got room after you jumped off the Boise State bandwagon.

I take it back if you are watching Boise-Utah State today.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Whoa whoa whoa...I haven't given up my Boise State fandom. I'm just a big fan of offensive gurus like Leach, & the Big Ten needs an innovator.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan