Pac-12 reprimands officials from Wisconsin-Arizona State game

As expected, Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott on Monday officially reprimanded the officiating crew for “failing to properly administer” the end of the Wisconsin-Arizona State game Saturday night at Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State escaped with a 32-30 win when Wisconsin was unable to spike the ball in time to set up the potential game-winning field goal.

It was an unusual finish, to say the least. Wisconsin had the ball at the Sun Devils’ 13 with 18 seconds left when quarterback Joel Stave took the snap in an attempt to center the ball on the field for the Badgers’ kicker.

With no timeouts left, Stave took a quick knee and then placed the ball where he thought it should be spotted. An Arizona State player thought it was a live ball and jumped on it.

The clock expired before the ball could be reset. Scott said in a statement, “We have determined that the officials fell short of the high standard in which Pac-12 games should be managed.

“We will continue to work with all our officials to ensure this type of situation never occurs again.”

-- Chris Dufresne

Kill receives support

The latest game-day seizure suffered by Minnesota Coach Jerry Kill raised again the question: Could his unpredictable condition make him unable to continue with this high-profile, demanding job?

Kill’s boss, echoing Golden Gophers assistants and players, answered another time with an emphatic no.

“Jerry is our coach, and we are 100% behind him. I am 100% behind him,” Athletic Director Norwood Teague said.

He added: “I just trust that we’re going to keep battling through it.”

Kill was back at work as usual, Teague said, two days after a seizure struck the 52-year-old coach at halftime of Saturday’s game against Western Illinois. Following a precautionary hospital visit, Kill was at home and resting comfortably two hours after the 29-12 victory by the Gophers. But this was the fourth time since taking over the program in 2011 that he’s had an episode on the day of a game, including two at halftime and another in the final minute.

Former NCAA official to lead review

Oklahoma State University appointed a former NCAA official to investigate alleged misconduct in the Cowboys football program.

University President Burns Hargis and the Board of Regents announced that Charles E. Smrt will lead an independent review of alleged violations reported by Sports Illustrated.

Hargis says Smrt is a veteran NCAA enforcement officer. He is currently president of a consulting firm specializing in compliance audits. Before that he was on the NCAA enforcement staff for almost 18 years.

Smrt says he will pursue the facts wherever they lead him.

The alleged violations reported by the magazine occurred between 2001 and 2010. Among the potential NCAA violations mentioned in the report are cash payments to players from boosters and assistant coaches and sham jobs for which players were paid.

Items stolen from Iowa locker room

Nine Iowa football players and coaches reported that cellphones and cash were stolen from their locker room during Saturday night’s victory at Iowa State.

The Hawkeyes noticed the missing items when they returned to their locker room following a 27-21 win over the rival Cyclones at Ames on Saturday night.

The Iowa State University police department said Monday the locker room was staffed by private security. Only those with credentials were supposed to be allowed in.