When New Mexico coach Rocky Long blasted the officiating for the Lobos-Air Force game a few weeks ago, retribution in the form of an official reprimand was swift and public.
When a veteran back judge blew an inadvertent whistle during the UNLV-Colorado State game Oct. 7 that cost defensive end Jesse Nading a 96-yard fumble return for a touchdown, a reprimand also was swift; it just wasn’t in a news release.
MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said Tuesday during the weekly media conference call that league policy is to keep such reprimands internal, but he was sure there had been other nonpublicized suspensions.
Given the threats against referees at any level of the game, officials’ names are not released by the league.
MWC coordinator of football officials Ken Rivera said last week the back judge blew the call on the Nading fumble recovery and would be suspended for a game. Other intraleague communications revealed the veteran back judge will not be on the list of officials for bowl duty.
The offending back judge worked the Utah-Wyoming game Saturday when the same scenario materialized as in the UNLV-CSU game. Utah cornerback Eric Weddle returned a Wyoming fumble 35 yards for a score. There were no whistles, and Weddle, on two midseason All-America lists, scored his fourth touchdown this season.
Unlike disputed calls in the Oklahoma-Oregon and UNLV-Iowa State games this season and the BYU-TCU game last year, Nading’s nullified touchdown had no bearing on the outcome. It simply erased a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a defensive lineman.
The Mtn.’s blackout eased
CSTV will lift broadband restrictions Saturday for the Air Force-San Diego State and UNLV-BYU games. Both games will be telecast by The Mtn., which is not available in San Diego or Las Vegas, where the primary cable distributor, Cox, has yet to sign an agreement.
Tentatively, the Internet streaming will be available through the MWC and the schools’ websites at a still-undecided fee.
While negotiations continue with Cox and satellite carriers, Thompson said his sense is there is more interest to secure a deal by the Cox officials in San Diego and Las Vegas than in the national office.
Meanwhile, Utah travels to New Mexico for a Thursday game, which like last week’s CSU-AFA game, is limited to The Mtn.’s five-state distribution.
“No comment. No reprimands for me,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said when asked about the broadcast setup. “We just desperately need to get a win.”
Said Long: “We’re disappointed that we’re not on a national audience. I think that’s the idea behind playing on Thursday night. I also understand this is the first year of our TV package and there are going to be some problems with it. It will get better as we go.”
Freshman class
One-third of the league is starting redshirt freshman quarterbacks with, Wyoming’s Karsten Sween quickly moving up to the head of the class. San Diego State redshirt freshman Kevin Craft will start this week, but senior Kevin O’Connell, who underwent hand surgery after the season opener, has returned to practice. New Mexico will stay with Donovan Porterie, a winner in his first start.
If UNLV senior Shane Steichen takes over full time, only TCU, CSU, Air Force, BYU and Utah will have the same starting quarterbacks at midseason as they did for the opening week.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
