Gordon Riese
Encyclopedia
Gordon Riese is a former college baseball
pitcher
in the 1960s who was inducted into the Portland State University
Hall of Fame in 1997. He has spent the last 28 years as a Pac-10 Conference
football
official. He was the line judge during the 1982 Stanford
-California
game when "The Play
" helped California win, 25-20.
Riese later worked as a referee in the Pac-10 and was the head of the officiating crew that worked the first Bowl Championship Series
championship game, the Fiesta Bowl
between Florida State
and Tennessee
on January 4, 1999. His final game on the field came on January 1, 2005 at the Fiesta Bowl
between Pitt
and Utah
.
In December 2004, Riese was the referee in a UCLA-USC game with officiating issues. Spencer Havner picked up a fumble near the end of the first half and appeared to be unabated to the end zone, but the fumble was called back because of an inadvertent whistle. USC kicked a field goal and went into the half up 20-10 instead of tied 17-17. The Trojans won 29-24 to cap an undefeated regular season and ended up beating Oklahoma 55-19 to win the BCS championship.
On September 16, 2006 Riese served as the instant replay
official of the University of Oklahoma
-University of Oregon
football game in Eugene
, Oregon
. During the final minutes of the game two plays were sent to his booth. The first was an onside kick
by Oregon with a little over a minute remaining. The ruling on the field was that Oregon had recovered the onside kick, but the play went to the booth for review for the purpose of evaluating whether Oregon had illegally touched the ball before it had traveled 10 yards. Those watching the game at home were given multiple angles of the play, and many agreed with the broadcast commentators
that Oregon had done so, thereby giving possession to the University of Oklahoma.
However, due to either technical or human error, Mr. Riese was only give one camera angle, from the University of Oklahoma's endzone. From that awkward angle, Riese could not answer the question of when the ball was first touched or even who first touched it. Therefore the play on the field would stand.
While Mr. Riese could not answer that question from the endzone angle, he was able to determine that the University of Oregon did not actually recover the ball. Riese could see that Allen Patrick
of Oklahoma had recovered it. Unfortunately, that was not the purpose of the review, and due to the restrictive nature of replay review rules, Mr. Riese was limited to providing information regarding the original scope of the review.
This ended up being a game-changing call. After Oregon was awarded the ball, they went on to score the touchdown
, winning by one point 34-33.
Following this incident, Riese was suspended, along with the rest of the officiating crew, for one game. Since the incident, he requested and been granted a leave of absence for the remainder of the season. and Riese was quoted as saying "I feel so bad I missed that call, it's driving me crazy," and that he was "struggling" with his mistake. Riese claimed to have received death threats, and during an interview on September 18, Riese stated:
"I can't sleep, I can't eat, my blood pressure
is skyrocketing,"
Riese was considering retirement
following the end of the season as recommended by his doctors. In February 2007 the Pac-10 Conference demoted Riese from replay official to technical assistant.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in the 1960s who was inducted into the Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
Hall of Fame in 1997. He has spent the last 28 years as a Pac-10 Conference
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
official. He was the line judge during the 1982 Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
-California
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
game when "The Play
The Play
The Play refers to a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the and the Stanford University Cardinal on Saturday, November 20, 1982...
" helped California win, 25-20.
Riese later worked as a referee in the Pac-10 and was the head of the officiating crew that worked the first Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
championship game, the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
between Florida State
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
and Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
on January 4, 1999. His final game on the field came on January 1, 2005 at the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
between Pitt
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
and Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
.
In December 2004, Riese was the referee in a UCLA-USC game with officiating issues. Spencer Havner picked up a fumble near the end of the first half and appeared to be unabated to the end zone, but the fumble was called back because of an inadvertent whistle. USC kicked a field goal and went into the half up 20-10 instead of tied 17-17. The Trojans won 29-24 to cap an undefeated regular season and ended up beating Oklahoma 55-19 to win the BCS championship.
On September 16, 2006 Riese served as the instant replay
Instant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
official of the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
-University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
football game in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. During the final minutes of the game two plays were sent to his booth. The first was an onside kick
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
by Oregon with a little over a minute remaining. The ruling on the field was that Oregon had recovered the onside kick, but the play went to the booth for review for the purpose of evaluating whether Oregon had illegally touched the ball before it had traveled 10 yards. Those watching the game at home were given multiple angles of the play, and many agreed with the broadcast commentators
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
that Oregon had done so, thereby giving possession to the University of Oklahoma.
However, due to either technical or human error, Mr. Riese was only give one camera angle, from the University of Oklahoma's endzone. From that awkward angle, Riese could not answer the question of when the ball was first touched or even who first touched it. Therefore the play on the field would stand.
While Mr. Riese could not answer that question from the endzone angle, he was able to determine that the University of Oregon did not actually recover the ball. Riese could see that Allen Patrick
Allen Patrick
Allen Patrick is an American football running back and is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma....
of Oklahoma had recovered it. Unfortunately, that was not the purpose of the review, and due to the restrictive nature of replay review rules, Mr. Riese was limited to providing information regarding the original scope of the review.
This ended up being a game-changing call. After Oregon was awarded the ball, they went on to score the touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
, winning by one point 34-33.
Following this incident, Riese was suspended, along with the rest of the officiating crew, for one game. Since the incident, he requested and been granted a leave of absence for the remainder of the season. and Riese was quoted as saying "I feel so bad I missed that call, it's driving me crazy," and that he was "struggling" with his mistake. Riese claimed to have received death threats, and during an interview on September 18, Riese stated:
"I can't sleep, I can't eat, my blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
is skyrocketing,"
Riese was considering retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
following the end of the season as recommended by his doctors. In February 2007 the Pac-10 Conference demoted Riese from replay official to technical assistant.