The Northwestern Wildcats, after decimating teams like Penn State, Purdue, and UCLA, were out for blood again. This time, it’s Matt Rhule, playing for survival and maybe even his job at Nebraska. The Wildcats already had scored 21 points as the 4th quarter was in progress, and were on the verge even to sealing the game with some creativity. While that hasn’t happened, since Nebraska has finally won. The officiating at the game is being heavily criticized, which allegedly made things more favorable for the Wildcats.

“This B1G officiating crew at the Huskers game is terrible. Maybe one of the worst I’ve seen in a long time,” wrote Nate Clouse, a Rivals contributor and Nebraska insider. Fans, too, are visibly furious. Since the calls that became a bone of contention are surely controversial. They range from spotting errors to outrightly handing over a touchdown to the Wildcats (as per fans). Adding to the Cornhuskers HC’s frustration was the lack of accountability from the officials.

Matt Rhule said he didn’t receive an explanation from the officiating crew on the contentious spot, which gave Northwestern a first down even after review. “Right is right and wrong is wrong. We didn’t get many breaks today, and I’ll leave it at that.” It was not a one-off; multiple issues came to light.

For instance, on 4th and 1, officials were accused of a spotting error despite the replay showing a clear first down for Emmett Johnson near the midfield. The decision not just stalled a promising drive, but even a review was not triggered for the play. There is more. In another call, the Wildcats’ RB was spotted short on the 4th down. However, the RB was still handed a first down. Here, too, no further review was triggered, and many called it potentially game-changing for Northwestern.

Not to mention the post-whistle shoves, including a facemask grab after a sack didn’t bring out a flag or a personal foul. Owing to that, the Nebraska head coach, too, visibly looked frustrated on the sidelines right after an abrupt movement penalty on Nebraska’s defensive lineman. So, despite the 28-21 win for Nebraska, the jury is still out on the officiating crew.

The verdict is still out on the refs’ performances in the Nebraska vs Northwestern game

This is, however, not the first game where the refs are accused of showing bias. For instance, in the Nebraska vs Cincinnati game, the officials, on the contrary, were accused of favoring Nebraska. During the final two minutes of the second quarter, the officiating crew again had a controversial spot on third down for Cincinnati. But seeing the opposite happen to Nebraska now isn’t acceptable for the fans.”Still waiting on a called hold for a Nebraska Opponent by a Big Ten crew. It’s been over a year,” wrote a user.

Whereas another user also summarized how the officiating crew is always biased against Nebraska. “They’re always the worst when it’s a Nebraska game,” said the user. Notably, last year, too, two of Nebraska’s games made the list of the worst officiating calls. According to ON3’s analysis, Nebraska football had two specific calls on its list of top 10. The outlet even mentioned that the Cornhuskers are treated “unfairly.”

One such Nebraska play on the list was also dubbed the “worst spot in history.” In that play, Nebraska wasn’t awarded a first down despite having it safely. Why? Just because refs didn’t track the ball clearly!! It’s natural, then, if the same things happen this year, the fanbase will come out even furious. A netizen not just criticized the calls the refs had made, but the management of the game itself. “Yeah, I don’t get how they can be this bad. Not only calls but even the way they are running the game.”

Another fan commented and highlighted the widespread, controversial calls, no matter the conference. “The ACC isn’t any better.” Of course, other conferences also have their share of the worst play calls. For instance, just recently in the Texas Tech vs Utah game in the Big 12, the refs didn’t even take a replay on a controversial call. On 4th-and-1, Utah decided to go for it, and the Utes pummeled through Texas Tech’s blitz. However, upon stick measurement, the player was found an inch short of the down line. The replay made it more controversial.

It showed that the player had the ball over the line. Despite that, no review was ordered, and Utah turned over the ball. A similar thing happened with Nebraska, too, against Northwestern. “The refs decided Northwestern was going to score on this drive… Absolute b—-t. Federal investigation now,” wrote a user. This happened after a defender draped over a receiver on a crucial third-down opportunity, but Northwestern was allowed a touchdown.

In total, the Cornhuskers gave away 4 penalties for 39 yards, while Northwestern got 3 penalties for 29 yards. That may not look like much. But Northwestern was 21-21 in the fourth quarter, and many claim it owed much to the crew’s officiating.