It’s safe to say that former Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini has never been afraid to speak his mind. And he did just that on an episode of the podcast “Pardon My Take,” released on Monday. During the appearance, Pelini made it well known that he is still upset about the ending of the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game.
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A quick recap of the game in question. Nebraska and Texas played for the Big 12 Championship in 2009, with the Huskers entering with a 9-3 record while Texas was 12-0 on the year. The Longhorns were #3 in the country, and with #2 Alabama playing #1 Florida in the SEC Championship Game, a win for Texas would place in the BCS National Championship Game.
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With Nebraska leading 12-10 with six seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Longhorns at the Nebraska 29-yard line, Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy rolled out to his right and threw the ball out of bounds. The clock in the stadium showed no time remaining, and the Huskers began celebrating their first conference title since 1999. However, the officials reviewed the play and placed one second back on the clock. Texas kicked a field goal and won the game 13-12 and advanced to the BCS National Championship Game, where they would lose to Alabama 37-21.
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While appearing on “Pardon My Take,” Pelini made it known that he thinks the fix was in and that the Big 12 did what they needed to in order to get Texas to that title game. When asked about the conference’s explanation for adding a second back to the clock, Pelini said,
“They (Big 12 Conference) f***ing lied. That (2009 Big 12 Championship Game) was a screw job… because they wanted Texas to go to the National Championship game. Lets face it, they wanted a team from the Big 12 went. We won the game. The game was over.”
Who knows how the Bo Pelini era may have played out in Lincoln had Nebraska won a conference championship in just his second season. He would coach in two more conference championship games for the Cornhuskers, losing to Oklahoma (20-23) and Wisconsin (31-70). Pelini would coach Nebraska from 2008 to 2014, going 67-27 (counting his interim head coach win in the 2003 Alamo Bowl) and 39-17 in conference play.
Take a look at the comments for yourself in the video linked below. Heads up, it does contain language that is NSFW.
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