4 calls refs made to screw Nebraska out of upsetting Ohio State

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had the Ohio State Buckeyes on the ropes on Saturday, this close to pulling off a stunning upset of the No. 4 team in college football. They fell just short, falling 21-17. Why? The refs certainly did them no favors.

Huskers on Twitter were furious about certain questionable calls. Who could blame them? The Big Ten officiating crew was either home cooking or simply incompetent.

My standard belief is that referees across all sports, leagues and levels are simply bad. It's a tough job but also one with structures that enable terrible quality. Leagues don't invest enough in officiating and they don't hold their officials accountable either. So, it's no surprise when games are heavily impacted by bad calls.

With that in mind, I stick to Halon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

So, Nebraska fans who are convinced the refs were in the bag for Ohio State are almost certainly stretching it. That doesn't mean that the Huskers weren't thoroughly screwed in this one. Let's walk through some of the biggest calls.

4. Letting Ryan Day get away with unsportsmanlike conduct

The refs were bad throughout the game, but their performance on Nebraska's final drive was especially terrible. And it wasn't just in Ohio State's favor. A questionable targeting call stood, resulting in an ejection. But in the process, the refs made an even more questionable ruling of a fumble on the play. So everybody had a chance to come away angry.

Ryan Day was certainly fuming because of the targeting call being upheld. He actually went Hulk-mode, throwing his headset onto the field in a fit of rage. The refs threw a flag for a sideline warning on that one. As FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira pointed out, he actually got lucky there.

A reaction like Day's should have resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Nebraska should have moved forward another 15 yards, putting them across midfield.

3. Horribly botching this spot

Again, it doesn't have to be bias for refs to be bad. If a person was trying to rig a game, they wouldn't be so bold to miss a call this badly.

On this run in the final minute of the first half, the refs somehow, someway, ruled the runner short. And they didn't bother to review it either.

At first, I thought maybe the refs thought right guard Henry Lutovsky had the ball, because they ultimately spotted it where he was engaged with a defender. But he clearly didn't have the ball. I feel like I'm grasping at straws there, but those straws are all I have. It's an absurdly bad spot.

Since Nebraska didn't get the first down, the clock didn't stop. Matt Rhule had to burn a timeout. That stoppage could have been huge as the Huskers looked for seven on the drive but settled for three.

2. Missing this defensive holding call

Converting first downs can be tough against a good defense, especially when that defense is allowed to grab receivers by the jersey to impede their path to the ball.

Here's an example on third-and-seven in the fourth quarter as Nebraska searched for a go-ahead touchdown.

It's much harder for a quarterback to hit his receiver in stride when that receiver gets held coming out of his break. The refs missed this one and it could have been a big one considering the Cornhuskers had to punt after this one.

1. Pick an OPI, any OPI

I'm a fan of a Pac-12 team that recently joined the Big Ten. One of the biggest points of adjustment has been how rarely Big Ten refs seem to call pass interference compared to Pac-12 refs. They let a lot of contact and hand fighting go.

So, it was especially puzzling to watch the refs call not one, but two marginal offensive pass interference penalties on Nebraska.

The first one happened to come right after the previously mentioned terrible spot.

The Huskers were pushed back but still managed to hit a field goal before the half.

Then again, before the end of the fourth quarter, the refs called another one on an impressive catch by Jahmal Banks. It was also marginal at best.

Did those calls directly cost Nebraska the game? No, the Cornhuskers had their chances despite those calls. Having said that, they're clear examples of flags that are so rarely thrown, it's wild to think they were called in this one.