Ref’s ‘atrocious’ call takes Illini’s fate out of their hands

The toughest part about my job is staying objective.

I mean, as a student reporter, it can be pretty hard bashing a team that you spent the last two years rooting for religiously. You constantly have to fight urges to clap, cheer and, of course, boo, at the expense of professionalism.

But by now, I feel that I’ve distanced myself so much from Illini football that I can watch this season as a casual observer rather than a fan. Of course, this is a double-edged sword because I no longer get excited when the team wins or does something good.

That being said, I couldn’t help but be furious Saturday after Illinois’ 21-16 loss to Northwestern.

No, it was not because of quarterback Jacob Charest’s marginal first-half performance. It also wasn’t because the team’s top offensive performer, Mikel LeShoure, seemingly disappeared in the second half or because Northwestern is unquestionably my least favorite team in the Big Ten.

Head coach Ron Zook was the first to point out his team once again could not get out of its own path.

“We had the chances to win this game, and we didn’t,” Zook said. “If you’re going to point the finger at someone, point it at me.”

But even with a mediocre showing from the Illini, Zook and Co. still had one final possession, which began with 2:13 to go in the game, to try and win the Land of Lincoln Trophy.

Until, of course, one miserable excuse for a referee took it away.

Jarred Fayson caught a pass from Jacob Charest to convert a fourth down with just more than a minute to go in the game. No, it’s not in the play-by-play that you’ll find on ESPN, but it happened.

The referees’ official ruling, which charged Charest with an interception rather than a completion, was atrocious.

Fayson’s knee can be seen hitting the ground at the time he catches the ball. He rolls over onto his back before Northwestern’s Sherrick McManis stripped the pigskin from his hands.

I’ve watched the replay over and over again since Saturday and still cannot understand what the referees possibly could have seen differently. I mean, even if Fayson’s knee did not hit the ground (which in reality it did), he still rolled onto his back, ruling him down by college football rules.

I also became progressively madder each time I saw the replay by thinking about what it means in the scope of a horrendous season for Illini football. Sure, you lose heartbreakers — that’s the nature of the sport. But Saturday’s loss was particularly significant because it ended Illinois’ valiant (albeit unrealistic) dream of finishing the season at 6-6 and gaining bowl eligibility.

So, you tell me: Is it fair that the team’s seniors, like Jon Asamoah, Eric Block and Juice Williams, to name a few, do not get the chance to finish out their careers with a bowl game not because of one bad play but rather because of one official’s ruling? Now, the last time they will ever don an Illinois uniform will be Dec. 5 against Fresno State.

There’s no question the Illini are facing two very tough opponents to finish the season, in the aforementioned Bulldogs and No. 5 Cincinnati. Even if the Orange and Blue had beaten Northwestern, the odds of them defeating both Fresno and Cincy were slim.

Additionally, it’s questionable whether the Illini would have won Saturday’s game if the refs had ruled the pass to Fayson a completion. For all we know, Charest might have gone on to throw a real interception on the next play.

But had the officials made the right call on Fayson’s reception, at least Illinois’ seniors would have gotten to decide their own fate. They would have lived to fight another play and still would have held a glimmer of hope that they could defy the odds and finish the season with a 5-0 run. Win or lose, the outcome would have rested solely on them.

Now, it won’t.

And the final straw that broke the back of the Illini camel was a controversial call based on the judgment of a middle-aged man in pinstripes.

The veterans of this Illini squad deserved better.

Peter Zervakis is a junior in Media. He can be reached at pzervak2@illinimedia.com.