Texas A&M football: Ed Orgeron no better than LSU fans blaming refs

Texas A&M football beat LSU, but there was some controversy with the officiating at the end of the game; Ed Orgeron had something to say about it.

The Texas A&M football win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday did not come without controversy. It will most likely be remembered for its excitement — the game matched the most overtimes ever, was the longest game ever and featured the most points ever scored in a college football game — but the officiating was called into question by LSU fans after the game.

Admittedly, the Aggies caught several breaks along the way. However, there was really only one play LSU fans have any sort of gripe about.

The first play came with just under 40 seconds to play. Kellen Mond was in the shotgun and mishandled a bad snap before going down on one knee to pick up the ball. He would throw an interception after getting rocked by Devin White, but the officials looked at the play and correctly determined Mond’s knee was down as he grabbed the football to pick it up.

Had Mond thrown a touchdown rather than an interception, LSU fans would have loved the result of the overturned play.

A couple of plays later, Mond completed a 4th-and-18 to just behind the 41 yard line. On TV it appeared he could have been short of the yellow line, but for whatever reason the TV’s line was way off. The first down line to gain was actually LSU’s 43, and Davis was well ahead of this when he caught the ball.

The following play was a pass to Kendrick Rogers with about three seconds remaining. The gripe from LSU fans comes two-fold here. First, they are arguing the resulting spike came with no time on the clock. Replay clearly shows the ball on the ground and one second remaining on the clock.

Next, they argue the Aggies are in an illegal formation with too many guys behind the line of scrimmage. It’s a lesson in angles, as the photo behind the line looks like there might be a case for that, but the photo directly down the line of scrimmage shows a legal formation.

Last, but not least, LSU safety Grant Delpit hit Jace Sternberger moments after he caught a pass to dislodge the ball in the first overtime. Greedy Williams recovered it and the game appeared it could be over. In real time, it looks like a fumble, but the referee instead ruled it was incomplete.

This is the only play that is even close to controversial in comparison to the others. It does appear Jace caught the ball and took two steps, but the hit is delivered right after that, and the slo mo replay shows he may have been juggling the ball prior to getting hit.

The refs definitely should have looked at it, but there didn’t seem to be evidence enough to overturn the call on the field. At best, this was a bang-bang play that could have gone either way.