Omaha, Neb. ? Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says safety Courtney Osborne put a clean hit on Blaine Gabbert. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel wants to make sure.
Pinkel said Monday he had asked the Big 12 to look at videotape of Osborne’s hit on the Tigers’ quarterback in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 31-17 loss to the Cornhuskers.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound safety blitzed and hit the 6-5, 230-pound Gabbert straight on. The question is whether it was an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit.
“I don’t think there was malice involved there,” Pinkel said. “We would like them to review it and give us their opinion.”
Big 12 spokesman Bob Burda, citing conference policy, declined to comment.
Gabbert stayed on his back for 10 seconds before teammates helped him up. He stayed in the game. Pinkel said Monday that Gabbert wasn’t injured.
When a reporter on the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference asked Pelini about what he thought of Osborne’s hit, the coach asked, “What do you mean?”
Asked if he thought there was anything wrong with the hit, Pelini said, “I thought it was a good tackle.”