Toledo Athletic Director Mike O’Brien said Sunday that he made a formal request to Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher to contact the Big East conference and ask that Syracuse’s 33-30 overtime win against the Rockets be vacated.

The win should subsequently be awarded to Toledo, he said.

‘I just wanted everyone to be aware that I requested our Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher this morning that he contact the Big East conference relative to yesterday’s Syracuse game and ask that the win be vacated and awarded to the University of Toledo,’ O’Brien said in a press conference.

The reason for the request stems from an extra point that gave Syracuse a 30-27 lead late in the fourth quarter during Saturday’s game in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse kicker Ross Krautman’s point after touchdown was reviewed by replay officials and deemed successful.

But the Big East issued a statement late Saturday night indicating the officials had made a mistake. The extra point was not good, meaning Syracuse’s lead at that point in the game should have been 29-27.

‘After studying the videos of the Syracuse extra point attempt at 2:07 of the fourth quarter, we have concluded that the ruling on the field that the kick passed between the uprights was incorrect, and that the replay official made an error in failing to reverse that ruling,’ said Terry McAulay, Big East conference coordinator of football officiating, in a statement. ‘In reviewing the video, we have determined that the angle from behind the kicking team shows conclusively that the ball passes outside the right upright.

‘Our review of the process determined that the replay official mistakenly focused his attention on the sideline angle, which proved to be distorted. We are confident that our officiating staff will learn from this situation in order to prevent a reoccurrence.’

Toledo head coach Tim Beckman said in a press conference Sunday that he watched the film of the game on the team’s flight back to campus. It wasn’t until the early hours of Sunday morning — 2 a.m. — that he decided to make the request to O’Brien.

‘The game of football has numerous human errors throughout a game,’ Beckman said in his press conference. ‘Players, coaches and officials are all part of these — that’s football. But when you add technology to a call, and it is not used properly, it is injustice.’

Beckman sent an email to Chuck Sullivan, Big East director of communications, asking what would be done about the situation. He read the text of the email aloud during his press conference: ‘This is an incorrect call, so what is getting done about it? Admitting is one thing, correcting it is another. I believe in the end of the regulation, the score 30-29 is the right call.’

Beckman said he had not received a response from Sullivan at the time of his press conference Sunday.

A spokesman for the Big East said the league is standing by the statement it issued Saturday. He also said he wasn’t sure the conference had the power to change the result of the game even if it wanted to change it.

O’Brien pointed out that his request to Steinbrecher ‘is most likely unprecedented.’ But he stressed that this situation is one in which the school needs to back its football players, coaches and fans.

‘I think it’s important we show our football team that we truly support them, that we show our football coach and his staff that we’re here to support them and tell our fan base that it wasn’t a situation where the University of Toledo just lays down,’ O’Brien said in his press conference.

Multiple calls to the Syracuse athletic department and to the Mid-American Conference were not returned.

Beckman questioned why the NCAA can vacate wins from schools years after they take place, but not the day after the game occurs.

‘I’m just trying to do what’s fair for the Rocket football team,’ Beckman said in his press conference. ‘… We’re stripping schools of national championships and wins that might have happened two years ago, maybe a year ago. I’m talking about one that happened yesterday. And it was the wrong call, and I’m just asking for justice and it being the right call.’

The spokesman for the Big East said that he thought once the referee declared the game final, that was the end of all discussion — regardless of whether or not an error was made.

But O’Brien said this situation cannot be viewed in the same manner as a missed holding call during the course of the game. He and Beckman view this situation as entirely different, and that is why they want the win vacated.

‘When I left that stadium yesterday, I said, ‘This is different,” O’Brien said in his press conference. ‘It’s clearly a missed call. It was admitted that it was a missed call, and thus the reaction from me this morning is that we asked that the win be vacated.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on September 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13