Delaware was up 19-0 at one point. They missed the PAT on the first TD. But it was this measurement that cost the the game?
Delaware Blue Hens football: Keeler adamant referees erred in fourth-down call
By MARTIN FRANK • The News Journal • January 8, 2011
FRISCO, Texas -- University of Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said he thought the Hens had the game won late in the fourth quarter, on a fourth-and-one play from the 23-yard line.
There were less than four minutes left, and Eastern Washington, trailing by six points, gave the ball to running back Mario Brown, who ran into a wall of UD defenders, desperately trying to get the first down.
He was stopped, and the referees came out to measure. Brown was given the first down. But the referees decided to review the spot, making sure their placement was accurate.
After the review, they moved the ball back about 6 inches, measured again, and this time Brown had gotten the first down by about an inch.
Three plays later, Eastern Washington scored the winning touchdown, sending UD to a 20-19 loss in the NCAA Division I-AA championship game Friday.
Keeler, however, was adamant that the referees had made a mistake on the measurement, saying the clip on the chain had been taken off after the initial spot had given EWU a first down, and that it wasn't put back in the proper place for the review.
All of this happened right in front of Keeler.
"The review came back that the ball is being put back to the 22," Keeler said. "As soon as we heard that, we knew we had the stop because we knew the chains were past the 22. They came over to the chain crew, and the chain crew was confused because they moved the clip already. So they guessed."
Keeler kept protesting, to no avail. So he called timeout.
"They wouldn't talk to me anymore," Keeler said about the referees. "We stopped them, no ifs, ands or buts about it ... That's disappointing. We're in a championship game and we have a spot with three minutes to go in the game that dictates who wins and who loses.
"I usually don't complain about things like that, but that one hurt. It really did."
There's no saying that UD would have been able to run out the clock and win the game if the Hens had taken over in that situation.
But it sure would have been a lot tougher for Eastern Washington to score the winning touchdown.
EWU coach Beau Baldwin said the referees did the right thing by reviewing the spot. Still, it was nerve-wracking for him waiting for the result.
"They were trying to figure out where the spot was," Baldwin said. "And they just wanted to get it right. I get that. The whole idea with the replay is to make sure they get it right in big games, and that's all they were trying to do.
"It's always going to be gut-wrenching for a coach during those situations ... You just hate to see it when it's going to be about a half an inch one way or the other, and that's the hardest part to take."
Just ask Keeler.
EWU scores three TDs in final 17 minutes to rally for title
Updated date: Last Updated - January 8, 2011 2:15 GMT
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APDelaware head coach K.C. KeelerJerry Trickie, NCAA.com
FRISCO, Texas -- Ask a coach in the week leading up to a game what it will be like once his team hits the field and you might get the usual, pre-packaged answer. After the contest, it’s not quite the same. It’s typically a little more open, some might say a tad more honest.
Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler definitely fell into the honest group Friday night discussing how his team, which led 19-0 midway through the third quarter, lost its grip in the closing minutes of a thrilling championship tilt.
“To say this loss was devastating would be an understatement,” Keeler said to open his postgame news conference. “I don’t think I’ve ever been associated with a loss like this.”
The Blue Hens’ inability to stop Eastern Washington during the final 9 minutes gave the Eagles their first national title with an almost improbable 20-19 victory in front of a crowd of 13,027 at Pizza Hut Park. EWU’s Bo Levi Mitchell, the strong-armed quarterback from Katy, Texas, guided his team with near ruthless efficiency in the last period and a half before finally taking a bow in the end zone after the clock hit zero with a national championship in hand.
It wasn’t easy though as Delaware dominated early.
The Blue Hens led 12-0 at halftime after racking up 230 yards almost equally on the ground (116) and through the air (114). The defense, which came in as the top scoring defense in the country and ranked fifth in total defense, held the Eagles to just 62 yards before intermission, a season low for the first half by 23 yards. Mitchell was just 6 of 11 for 36 yards after two quarters.
“We pretty much dominated the first half but my concern was, you know, not having enough points on the board with how well we dominated,” Keeler said. “But we dominated the game and you knew that Eastern Washington was a big-play team and you just waited for them to make a couple big plays."
He was right.
UD went up by 19 points after the teams exchanged turnovers before things started to get away from the Blue Hens. Mitchell guided EWU on an 80-yard, five-play drive, slicing up what was considered to be the best secondary in the FCS with three consecutive completions for 35, 24 and 22 yards to put Eastern Washington on the board.
“We had some opportunities to put the ballgame away and we didn’t put the ball game away; shame on us for not putting the ballgame away,” Keeler said. “They are a very good football team. It’s a tough, tough, tough way to lose, especially the way you dominated the first half the way we did."
From there, momentum only went one way and it wasn’t the same as the first half.
“It’s just they started making some plays down field, that’s what they do and what they’re about,” Keeler said. “They got some momentum and momentum’s tough.”
Once they started rolling, the Eagles never stopped, even when its luck looked as though it might have run out. That came when Eastern Washington faced fourth-and-1 from the Delaware 23. Running back Mario Brown ended up being credited with a 1-yard run, but it wasn’t that simple.
“We stopped them,” Keeler said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it, we stopped them.”
The officials didn’t see it that way.
Following the run, the Eagles were credited with a first down. Before the next snap, the play was reviewed and the ball moved back about what appeared to be the length of the football. Keeler called timeout after the officials awarded a first down for the second time and asked for them to check the spot of the chains, which had been moved before the review started.
“The way the ball was spotted originally, that was a first down. But the chain was not on the 22. The chain was past the 22. That’s why when they said the ball is put back on the 22, we knew we stopped them,” Keeler said. “Not game over, but game close to over.”
While the spot didn’t go in Delaware’s favor, the Blue Hens still had a chance to end the game on top. The Eagles wouldn't let that happen as a break down in pass coverage on second down followed by a perfectly placed ball from Mitchell on first-and-10 from the 11 gave EWU the win.
Even though his defense had chances after the unique fourth-down situation, the coach still had a bad feeling about it after the game.
“That’s disappointing,” Keeler said. “You know, we’re in a championship ballgame and we have a spot with 3 minutes left to go in the game that dictates who wins and loses. Usually I don’t really complain about things like that, but that really hurt. It really did
