This touchdown catch that was ruled incomplete will go down as one of the more infamous calls in black college football history. And with some of the horrible calls we’ve seen throughout the years, that’s saying something.
But game officials working the Turkey Day Classic didn’t have the advantage of instant replay. It’s easy for all of us to freeze a moment and cry foul, while umpires and back judges are working with hundreds of moments happening simultaneously at game speed.
College football fans, not just fans of Tuskegee or black college football, have a right to be upset. A missed call ended not just a game, but a historic winning streak. Not only that, but had the catch been ruled complete for a touchdown, there may be an entire different story playing out with Reggie Barlow as head coach of Alabama State.
It was a call that was made with the talent and resources that were available to the officials. There’s no denying that black college conferences need extensive work in training their game officials, but as most old school coaches will tell you, it shouldn’t have been that close to begin with.
The More Things Change For Alabama State Football, The More They Stay the Same | HBCU Sports Blog 1:16 pm on March 26, 2009 Permalink
[...] through all of that, there will still be the sting of the Turkey Day Classic Controversy for which the Hornets will likely face questions and scrutiny until the next Classic. Unfair, yes. [...]