How do football games keep coming down to this?

Was the receiver's foot a quarter-inch inbounds or out? Did the d-back interfere or blanket-cover? Catch or trap? Fumble or "down by contact"? Overturned or upheld?

Or to the white-hot core of Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska game: Did Matt Lehman fumble or score a critical, dramatic touchdown?

This was an epic college football game. It had more plot twists than "Breaking Bad," and more heroics than "Braveheart."

And now we have to talk about referees and replay booths and tiny fractions of an inch and/or second and controversy and, yes, claims of conspiracy.

Which means we have to again talk, if even in a small and very indirect way, about Jerry Sandusky.

In case you missed it: Penn State trailed Nebraska 27-23 in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Lions were on the Nebraska 3. Second-and-goal.

Quarterback Matt McGloin hit Lehman, a former walk-on who has become a championship-caliber tight end, with a tiny pass.

Lehman got within a yard or so of the end zone and lunged forward. He pushed the ball toward pay dirt with both hands.

Maybe it crossed the plane of the goal line a millionth of an instant before Nebraska knocked it loose, and recovered it in the end zone.

Maybe not. The officials on the field thought not. The replay booth agreed.

Touchback, not touchdown.

For what it's worth — precisely nothing — I thought it was a bad call, but my biggest reaction is amazement at how close it was, at the microscopic margins by which these things get decided.

Writers covering the game asked that a pool reporter be allowed to speak to an official. The pool reporter, an Associated Press guy from Lincoln, was allowed to speak not to a replay official but game referee John O'Neill, who made the following utterly, and predictably unrevealing statement:

"The ruling on the field was it was a fumble short of the goal line. It went to replay, and the replay official said the play stood, based on the views he had. It's ultimately his decision."

Thank you.

On ABC, color analyst Chris Spielman called it the worst call he's seen this year.

Mike Pereira, a former NFL official who now works as a rules and officiating analyst for Fox, tweeted that Lehman "seemed to have control when the ball crossed the plane."

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini acknowledged an important truth: No matter what O'Neill says, the call on the field matters a lot to the replay guys.

"I have not seen it," Pelini said, "but I know one thing that helps you in that situation is how they called it on the field. ... We were kind of fortunate that they called it that way out on the field."

The Penn State contingent mostly stayed diplomatic.

"We felt like it was over the goal line" was the strongest thing coach Bill O'Brien said, and O'Brien generally has no problem displaying his distaste for Big Ten officiating.

"The referees did the best they could," said cornerback Stephon Morris. "We put ourselves in that situation."

"Whatever the call is," offensive lineman John Urschel said, "is what we have to deal with. Whatever decision they make, we have to make plays and go forward."

Indeed, it should be noted that 7:39 remained when the play occurred. Anyone who says Penn State got flat-out jobbed here is just looking for trouble.

Which brings us to Matt McGloin, the fiery Penn State quarterback of whom his apartment-mate, center Matt Stankiewitch said Saturday, "Matt's a little emotional right now."

That seems true whenever right now is. Odd that McGloin is apparently not beloved by the Penn State diehards since, essentially, he's one of them.

He reacted that way when asked about the Lehman play.

"It's us against the world," said McGloin, who later tweeted a photo he claimed showed that Lehman had "his whole arm" over the goal line.

"We're not going to get that call here. We're not going to get that call ever, against any team. It doesn't matter who the referees are, we'll never get that call."

Yeah. He went there.

Much of Nittany Nation says Penn State has always been treated like an unwanted interloper in the Big Ten, and that feeling has of course — the theory goes — grown exponentially in the last year.

You know why.

There are a lot of things to admire about McGloin and what he's done at Penn State. His willingness to indulge this beast isn't one of them.

The fallout should enliven this pre-Indiana week, at least.

They did not make Matt Lehman available to the media.

Understandably.

mgross@lnpnews.com