Yes, the Texas-OK State game was poorly called; no, it wasn't a conspiracy
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Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Stewart Mandel's Sept. 23 Mailbag. For his full Mailbag, click here, and to submit a question for next week, email Stewart.Mandel@fox.com or visit his Facebook page.
Typically complaining about officiating is poor form, that's why I've never done it. But I'm curious to hear your take on Texas-Oklahoma State. There were a lot of phantom calls and the final straw, the unsportsmanlike conduct on Charlie Strong, looked as if the line judge intentionally instigated contact with the coach before throwing the flag. I find it hard to believe that refs have an ax to grind or secret agendas, but after what happened in the NBA, is anything really off the table?
--Kyle McDaniel, Dallas
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So this is really a thing, huh? But only among Texas fans, I assume ... What's that? Former Tulane and NFL quarterback Shaun King is among those alleging something dirty went down? Has everyone lost their minds?
Clearly, that was a horrendously officiated game, and the bad calls went disproportionately against Texas. But there's a big difference between incompetence and corruption.
Frankly, I don't even know how you could get away with fixing a football game. Basketball seems a lot easier to manipulate than football. For one thing, there are only three officials, not eight. And whereas in basketball, every foul is basically a judgment call, nearly every controversial call in that Texas game was either right or wrong. And the people who evaluate the officials -- who in doing so have the ability to suspend or reprimand them and who dictate the quality of their assignments and potential postseason opportunities -- know full well the answers. Presuming these guys want to keep working, it would not be in their best interests to intentionally screw up an inordinate number of calls.
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It's unfortunate that the refs became such a storyline, because as ESPN.com's Jake Trotter aptly tweeted: "[Texas] didn't lose because of officials. They lost because they gained 48 yards after half and their punter dropped the ball."
Stewart Mandel is a senior college sports columnist for FOXSports.com. He covered college football and basketball for 15 years at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter @slmandel and Facebook. Send emails and Mailbag questions to Stewart.Mandel@fox.com.