Bo Pelini Calls 'Bullsh*t' On 2009 Big 12 Championship Game

In December of 2009, former Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini was served a plate of bullshit that's left a bitter taste in his mouth ever since.

In the Big 12 Championship Game with a trip to the National Championship on the line for Texas, a not-so-curious case of milking the clock from the hometown officials gifted the Longhorns extra time to kick a game-winning field goal and send the Cornhuskers home empty-handed.

"Everybody wanted me to be politically correct and say, 'We lost'. Bullshit. We didn't lose," Pelini said during a recent episode of his new podcast, Beyond the Playbook. "We won that football game.

"For me to stand up for our team...Hell, I got criticized for it. I'm like, 'Everyone should've been talking about what a joke that call was,'" Pelini continued. "Still people to this day who watch that say: 'That was the biggest ripoff they'd ever seen.'"

Bo knows ripoffs. And in this case, he's spot on.

For those who may have forgotten -- or perhaps chosen not to remember -- Nebraska led 12-10 with 7 seconds to play and Texas facing third and long. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy rolled right and was immediately harassed by Ndamukong Suh for what seemed like the 30th consecutive play. McCoy then threw an incomplete pass as the clock hit :00. The Huskers were Big 12 Champions.

Until they weren't.

Game officials halted the Husker celebration and unjustifiably added one second to the clock, allowing the Longhorns another play. That final down resulted in a game-winning field goal for Texas.

Nearly 13 years later, a shovel big enough to handle this massive pile of "bullshit" is yet to be found.

"I'm not one to (blame officials)," added Pelini. "We lose, you lose. You accept it. That was different."

Pelini's comments echo similar statements he made about the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game during a May appearance on Pardon My Take. At the time, Pelini referred to the decision to add the phantom second as a "screw job," which ensured that the conference would be represented in the National Championship.

"That was a screw job. They wanted Texas to go to the National Championship Game," Pelini said. "Let's face it. They wanted to make sure that a team from the Big 12 went.

"We won the game. The game was over."

Texas went on to lose to Alabama in that National Championship, providing Pelini with at least a small taste of revenge.

 

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