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Published Friday December 30, 2005 Michigan's Carr says, 'It was ludicrous'
THE DETROIT FREE PRESS

SAN ANTONIO - Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had another short night's sleep early Thursday.

Carr called it "a long night," although he wouldn't say how much he slept.

The Wolverines were at the Alamodome past midnight after their 32-28 loss to Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl, and Carr was still seething Thursday morning about the Sun Belt Conference officiating crew. The crew struggled with the replay system.

"It was ludicrous," Carr said.

Asked if he could do anything about it, he said: "It's too late. The commissioners, I'm sure, have a big voice in who officiates these games."

Carr's discomfort stemmed from a number of plays, including the last one, when Michigan lateraled seven times and ended up at the Nebraska 13. Cornhusker players (and several photographers) poured onto the field when the ball was still alive, but Nebraska wasn't penalized.

The bowl was the officiating crew's first experience with instant replay, and there were a few early glitches in the system.

Carr was animated on the sidelines in the first half when a possible Nebraska fumble wasn't reviewed. The Cornhuskers eventually scored a touchdown. Carr was upset again when he had to use a timeout in the third quarter to allow the officials enough time to consider a replay on a Nebraska touchdown, which was overruled after a review.

After the game, Carr vented a bit, saying college football could use a coaches' challenge to correct obvious mistakes the officials might not consider. Carr said of a challenge: "It's only fair."

He also talked Thursday about Michigan's 7-5 record, the school's worst since the team went 6-6 under Bo Schembechler in 1984.

"I don't think you ever disregard the record," Carr said. "The record is the result from the games and is an important standard and we're all disappointed with that. But I'm not disappointed in our players. They fought to the last minute of the last game.

"Every game, but certainly every season, has its lessons."

Even through the sting of the loss, Carr noted that Michigan's young players benefited by playing so much this season.

"In a lot of ways, we were a very young football team, particularly at certain positions," he said. "If you look at (Antonio) Bass, (Mario) Manningham, Mike Massey, Kevin Grady and Will Paul, we had a lot of young guys get a lot of valuable experience. . . . In terms of future teams here at Michigan, it will be valuable."

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