Sweet Justice! BYU Wins!

photo credit: AP Photo/Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News

I just wanted to say, I am thrilled with BYU's crushing defeat of Washington last weekend. And aside from the blowout I wanted, I couldn't think of a better way to have it end. That's not because I like exciting nail-biters; I don't. It's because I just LOVE the irony of listening to all the whiny Huskies telling me that the refs stole the game from them. Here's why:

1. The unsportsmanlike conduct call at the end of the game, which forced a 35 yard extra point try, wasn't even a judgment call. It's explicitly in the rule book.
2. Washington received a total of 4 penalties in the whole game. All were the obvious kind, and one actually helped them (the intentional grounding call, which, if it were Max Hall, would have been ruled a fumble and upheld by "indesputable video evidence," and all you PAC-10 homers know it). They were not called for a single hold, despite numerous blatant holding violations, including the picture above.
3. Washington got what they deserved from their own corrupt officials! The PAC-10 requires their own officials at all home games. That cost us the Arizona game in '06, the UCLA game in '07, and almost the Washington game in '08. You've got no one to blame but yourselves!
4. We blocked the extra point! Whether it was from 20 or 35 yards out, we blocked it. We didn't just tip it either. That kick was dead on arrival. When my team gets screwed by the refs, the PAC-10 homers say, "Officials don't change the outcome of games; if you deserved to win, you still would have made the necessary play." (In the case of So'oto and Hall's non-fumbles of last year, the Matt Allen offensive PI and the flagrant no-call when Meikle got knocked unconscious on a fair catch, I respectfully disagree anyway.) So make the play! The officials did not rob you of possession of the ball or a touchdown or anything near the level they have robbed my Cougars. You have to make the extra point! It's as simple as that.
5. Outright national championships - BYU: 1; Washington: 0.

Bring on UCLA!