Indiana Fans Fume as Officiating Issues Cloud Curt Cignetti & Co. in Nebraska Showdown
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Indiana fans are not happy with the officiating in Lincoln, and they made sure everyone knew it. The Hoosiers trailed Nebraska 10-6 in the third quarter as of this writing, and a lot of the anger was aimed at the refs.
Indiana came into the game on a 21-game winning streak under Curt Cignetti, so a tight game against an unranked Nebraska team was not what Hoosier fans had in mind. Matt Rhule’s Cornhuskers stayed in it, and with every stalled drive, the officials became the main topic online.
It started with a few posts about holding calls and grew from there. Fans picked up on the complaint fast, and some brought statistics to back it up.
“I’ll just leave this here.” Here, the fan added a screenshot from Pick Six Preview saying Nebraska’s opponents had not been called for holding once in 377 snaps.
“It’s a complaint for me,” a fan wrote while another said, “Only when Nebraska has the ball.”
Nebraska was flagged for holding once in the first quarter, according to Matt Malloy of the Daily Nebraskan.
“Nebraska getting away with holds as per usual,” a comment read.
Nebraska’s offense put up 216 yards in the first half, though yardage alone doesn’t prove any missed calls.
“Refs are absolutely killing us. Destroying our drives with non calls,” a fan wrote.
Indiana had just one offensive drive in the first half, and it lasted 7 minutes and 41 seconds.
Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports pointed at the same issue.
“Not a complaint, simply an observation: Refs in Lincoln today seem to have a loose interpretation of the holding rule,” Fornelli wrote on X.
In his next post, he added, “Again, this is not a complaint. The officials in Lincoln are here to watch the game like everyone else.”
A loose interpretation of holding just means the refs let small jersey tugs and quick hand grabs go instead of flagging every bit of contact. That can make a game more physical, with fewer stoppages. But one call or non-call can’t prove a crew is doing that, and it takes more plays and more film to see a real pattern.
Holding happens when a player grabs, hooks, or pulls an opponent to slow him down. In football, offensive holding costs 10 yards, and defensive holding on a receiver costs 10 yards and gives an automatic first down. Refs get to decide whether contact is enough to throw a flag, which is why fans argue about it so much.
There was a real holding flag in this game. In the first quarter and the score tied 3-3, Nebraska was called for holding, its first of the day, according to Malloy. That pushed the Cornhuskers back to third-and-12.
Anthony Colandrea’s mix of throwing and running has been a problem for Indiana’s defense. Nebraska also reportedly had not beaten a ranked opponent under Rhule, so an upset of a team on a 21-game streak would mean a lot to the program.
The game was still going at the time of writing, so the final score and the final word on the officiating are still to come. For now, Indiana fans have plenty to say, and the refs are getting the blame. At the time of writing, the Hoosiers had taken the lead, 20-17.
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