Krystkowiak Upset About No-Call In Saints-Rams Game
Jan 22, 2019, 1:25 PM
Utah Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak calls out to players during the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Controversy was the story of the game after the result of the NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams won in overtime and many Saints were upset about an apparent no-class on pass interference in the fourth quarter that could have had major implications on how the game turned out.
Among those upset Saints fans was Utah men’s basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak.
Imagine not allowing the Saints to get to the Super Bowl because you thought this wasn’t a penalty pic.twitter.com/cyPNmkGUiB
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 20, 2019
“That was rough,” said Krystkowiak when asked about in his weekly press conference.
With 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter of the NFC championship, with the game tied at 20-all, Saints quarterback Drew Brees attempted a pass to TommyLee Lewis on third down when Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman smashed Lewis on a hit that appeared to come well before the arrival of the ball. It was not called pass inference, a decision that the NFL called incorrect.
“Tough stuff. You never want it to come down to that,” said the seventh-year head coach who added that he wasn’t able to watch the game live due to his team’s game against Colorado on Sunday. “You’d just think that on that stage, at that level, that we wouldn’t be talking about that kind of mistake. It seemed pretty obvious.”
GAME WEEK: Utes travel to California to play Stanford & Cal. ✈️☀️🌴
Thu, Jan. 24 ＠ Stanford 7pm MST 📺 @Pac12Network
Sat. Jan. 26 ＠ Cal 6pm MST 📺 @ESPNU #GoUtes🏀🔴 | #Pac12Hoop pic.twitter.com/0QYAbFTNyl— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 21, 2019
Krystkowiak also mentioned that he had a friend who is a Rams fan who felt that it was a good no-call.
“It’s tough. There’s an awful lot of grind that goes into a 16-game season and you’re coming down to that point. To have a game changed on that, it’s kind of that old adage that there are no little things,” Krystkowiak said.
The Rams will go to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3.
Krystkowiak and the Utes will face Stanford on Thursday and California on Saturday.
