The officials' view of the final NU-ILL play

Hi gang,

If you saw the finish of Northwestern's 21-16 victory over Illinois, then you saw the officials rule that NU cornerback Sherrick McManis took the ball away from WR Jarred Fayson on a diving play with 32 seconds to go.

While most of the 60,000-plus inside Memorial Stadium thought the referees blew the call -- that Fayson made his diving catch and rolled onto his back to end the play before McManis came in -- here's the official statement from referee Dan Capron:

"What the line judge saw was the Illinois receiver attempt to catch the pass, but he never completed possession of the ball. He was on his back in the field of play and the ball was basically on his chest. The receiver did not firmly grab and possess the ball. Before he had an opportunity to do so, the defender from Northwestern came up and did possess the ball and that's why it was ruled an interception on the field.

"That play was then buzzed by the replay booth, as we expected it would be given the magnitude of the call. Then (replay official) Tom Quinn determined that there was not indisputable video evidence available to overturn the call on the field."

Here's the rest of the story:
Illinois coach Ron Zook rushed through his postgame handshake with NU coach Pat Fitzgerald at a jog so he could run after Capron. Zook chased him for perhaps 20 yards while screaming, "Hey! Hey!", but the referee kept running off the field without looking back.

LW