Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

WAC suspends official for blown call at Boise State

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Instant replay official Michael Goshima will serve a one-game suspension this weekend after he failed to overturn a call in a game last weekend between San Jose State and Boise State.

The suspension was based on a play late in the first half when San Jose State quarterback Jordan La Secla completed a pass on third-and-10 to Josh Harrison. The gain was ruled nine yards on the field and confirmed by the replay booth after a review.

San Jose State was forced to punt and Boise State scored 14 points in the final minute of the half, to stretch a 10-7 lead to 24-7.

After further inspection, the runner clearly made the first down and the call should have been reversed, the WAC ruled Thursday. The suspension is the first of a WAC replay official since the NCAA implemented instant replay in 2006.

"Instant replay is used to get it right on the field and in this case the official had a chance to reverse a call at a very critical time in the game and did not,'' commissioner Karl Benson said in a statement.

In 2003, the WAC suspended an entire crew for a series of mistakes at the end of a game between San Jose State and Hawaii.