Montgomery QB Club Highlights - Jackie Sherrill
Filed Under Mississippi State Sports | Posted on September 21, 2006
Coach Sherrill seems to be making the QB club rounds. He also visited Montgomery, Alabama. Our former coach has some great comments about the future of college football and some head coaches around the league.
Sherrill blasts Pac-10 officials for OU mistake
By Mike Tankersley
Montgomery Advertiser
The Pac-10 got it half right, according to Jackie Sherrill.
The former head coach at Pitt, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, speaking to the Montgomery Quarterback Club on Monday night, lashed out at the officials of the Oklahoma-Oregon game for what he called two terrible calls that helped the Ducks beat the Sooners 34-33 over the weekend.
Replays seemed to indicate that an onsides kick by Oregon was touched by an Oregon player before it went 10 yards. Yet, the replay official didn’t overturn the call on the field that Oregon recovered a properly executed onsides kick. Right afterward, an interference call on OU wasn’t overturned, even though replays clearly showed the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
The Pac-10 on Monday, reacting to a scathing letter by OU president David Boren, apologized to Oklahoma and suspended the game officials and replay officials for one game.
Sherrill said that wasn’t enough.
“The officials on the field, they’re human. They make mistakes,” he said. “One game for them is right. But the replay officials, they should be suspended for the year. Because you do not miss those two calls with the 11 (camera) angles he had to look at.
“That guy had every angle to look at those plays, and he still missed it. I’m in the studio. I know.”
Sherrill is a college football studio analyst for FSN South. He expressed admiration for the action Boren took.
“I’m really excited and appreciative that a college president took it upon himself to do something like that,” Sherrill said. “If that had been (Bob) Stoops making that complaint, there might have been a reprimand by the Pac-10, but it would have been done privately.
“These commissioners, they don’t listen to coaches. But they listen to college presidents. And Boren carries more weight than most presidents. Not many of them are former (U.S.) senators.”
Sherrill captivated the audience with numerous pointed comments and seemed pleased to be in a position now to tell it like it is.
“Some of these coaches come in here and tell you something for public consumption,” he said. “The reason you ask me back is because I tell you the truth.”
The audience applauded.
Among the other highlights of Sherrill’s speech:
A national playoff is coming, and soon. The “stack” BCS game beginning this season — where two games are played at the national title game site — is a “precursor” to a “plus-one” playoff format, in which two teams will emerge from the BCS bowl games and play in a national championship game about nine days later.
Tommy Tuberville would not leave Auburn to take the head coaching job at Miami, where he was once an assistant. “If he does, he’s crazy, and you can tell him I said that,” Sherrill said. “He won’t find a better job than the one he has right now at Auburn. And (because of the controversy three seasons ago), Tommy can be there a long time.” The LSU-Auburn game had more talented players on the field than any game that will be played season, except for possibly the national championship game. And LSU can’t blame the officiating for its loss.”They had plenty of opportunities to win that game before that last drive,” he said. Sherrill, who follows southwest football closely, said Arkansas’ Mitch Mustain will be something special. “He’s the best kid I’ve seen in many years,” he said. “I think he’s going to be as good as (Joe) Namath or Dan Marino.” Some of the clock management rules in place for the first time this season will be rescinded at year’s end.”I’ve not talked to one coach in the country who really likes the new rules, and that’ll be on the agenda when people meet in the offseason,” he said. “I think they’ll listen to the coaches on this one.”Sherrill said the new rules cheat fans out of about nine to 10 plays per team each game, and that coaches don’t like the shortened games because they can play fewer players, including young ones who need game experience.”As a fan, when I buy that ticket, I want to see those extra 18-20 plays,” he said.
