Dan McCarney addressed what he thought was a blatantly bad call during UNT’s loss to Southern Miss today.
Yeah, we’re talking about the holding call on Antonio Johnson on what would have been a 52-yard touchdown pass to Antoinne Jimmerson.
After looking at it on film, McCarney emphatically said that it was a clean block all the way.
UNT has turned the tape in to the league office for interpretation.
“We teach it; we coach it,” McCarney said. “We are waiting for an interpretation right now because Antonio Johnson did exactly what we hoped he would do out there in the open field. That was one of the best executed offensive plays we have had all year.”
In some instances, holding calls are in the eye of the beholder. Johnson was making a block down the field against a defender in open space. We watched the replay in the press box and the call on TV. The announcers said they thought it was a hold.
I knew immediately when the flag came out that was going to be the call.
I definitely think McCarney has a point. Jimmerson is in the clear no matter what. All Johnson has to do is get in the way.
Did Johnson have his hands on the outside of the defender’s shoulder pads, drawing the flag? That’s the only thing that makes sense and is likely what the official saw.
The call just seems like another bad break in a long line of them in a tough season for UNT.
And in a side note, Phil Steele’s put out its midway All-Conference USA team. Derek Akunne, Chad Polk and Cyril Lemon all made the team.