FORT COLLINS — Mike Bobo watched film of three highly debated offensive pass interference penalties against Colorado State on Friday, and the Rams’ head football coach still wouldn’t bite in publicly criticizing the Pac-12 officiating crew working his team’s 17-3 loss to the University of Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown.
“They made the calls,” Bobo said at his weekly news conference. “We moved on.”
However, CSU is still seeking a form of resolution.
On Saturday morning, Bobo submitted 25 penalties for review and clarification by the Pac-12 officiating office, including the three offensive pass interference calls. CSU had not received a response as of Monday afternoon, but expected it by Tuesday or Wednesday.
“One of the questions you send in and ask is: What do we tell our receivers in these situations?” Bobo said. “We’ll see what they say and try to coach (our players) up. It might be a question that I ask the officials every time they come into the locker room 90 minutes before kickoff: What’s your view of pass interference defensively and offensively? To see how they’re going to call the game.”
Bobo has since turned his focus to 1:30 p.m. Saturday when the Rams will host Abilene Christian. He says there’s little to be gained by dwelling in the past, especially if its brings about excuses for defeat.
“Yes, it was unfortunate that it happened. Yes, we hate it got called back. But what are we going to do about it?” Bobo said. “We were still down 14 points. We (needed) to figure out a way to try and get some points on the scoreboard, and, unfortunately, we were unable to do that.”
The Denver Post also reached out to the Pac-12 for comment on Monday, but has yet to receive a response.
Here are the three offensive pass interference penalties in question and what they negated for the Rams.
1. First quarter — third-and-4 from the CU 26: Nick Stevens completes a 17-yard pass to Olabisi Johnson to set up first-and-goal. Johnson called for offensive pass interference. Scoreless game.
2. Third quarter — first-and-10 from the CU 27: Stevens completes a deep ball to Detrich Clark in the end zone. Clark is called for offensive pass interference. CU leads 17-3.
3. Third quarter — first-and-10 from the CU 48: Stevens completes a 33-yard pass to Michael Gallup to go inside the Buffs’ 20-yard line. CU leads 17-3.
You can watch replay video from all three calls .