In another topic, MCG arrogantly describes all of us as follows: The following article is a fresh perspective from a writer who has never heard of the Skybox and is approaching the subject from a neutral perspective:
I disagree 110% with this guy. UF-FSU in 2003 came down to one last gasp play by the Noles with under a minute left and yes unfortunately Florida didn't stop it. However, you can't just dismiss 59 minutes of the most horribly officiated game I have ever seen and boil it down to an immature rant of...Well the Gators had their chance...na..na...na..na.. Even with a poorly officiated game instead of the highway robbery it was UF would have been up by two TDs at that point and a long pass by FSU was a moot point.
An AP writer .... a media guy ..... is neutral, objective, reasonable, insightful ..... and fair?? :shock:
How about this for an idea....the NCAA needs to have a "quality control" ref position created in the press box to oversee the job being done. The trick is this ref needs to be from outside the region and the conference. They need to be carefully screened and interviewed and even pyschologically tested for their "neutrality quotient". This guy could order up reviews of plays AND penalties. I'll guarantee this would go a long way to solving this problem.
As long as a team has another opportunity then it is hard to blame officiating for any loss. Oklahoma lost the game why? They were up 8 and gave up a TD. So there's a bad call on the onsides kick. They still have to defend. They still had an opportunity to prevent a bad call from having an effect on the outcome of the game. Last year, PSU had some highly questionable calls against them on Michigan's final drive. Add to that Lloyd Carr pleading for an extra 2 seconds on the clock which many say should not have been added on. Well regardless of bad officiating Penn State still had an opportunity to win the game if they only stop the UM offense. On the next to the last play PSU CB Zemaitis knocks a ball away from a UM receiver at the 5-6 yard line. Had he allowed the wr to catch the ball and make a sure tackle the game would have been over as time would have expired. It was a horrendous offensive call by Michigan or checkoff by Henne since the ball should have been thrown in the end zone. On the last play of the game Henne finds a wide open Mannigham for the game winning TD. Did the bad officiating or bad defense lose the game? This is a no brainer, Penn State just blew it. As long as a team has an opportunity to prevent a bad call from causing a loss, then all you have left is a could of , should of, would of scenario. Instant replay has made a big improvement in the quality of the game. While it's not perfect, I find it hard to believe that Mo is still complaining as loud as he ever has been.
The neutrality issue and the quality issue are related problems because they can go hand in hand. My solution ropes in the penalty issue as well which is sorely needed. The key to what I propose is the out of region and neutrality quotient that I describe for this "Quality Control" official who would be the highest ranking official at the game and could overrule everyone else. I ask you....why wouldn't fans that are interested in seeing a fair and honestly refereed College football game be interested in seeing this come to fruition?
Instant Replay has helped, I like the fact that the guys up in the boothe can review any play. It's improved the situation. I never thought it could work on the collegiate level, credit AJNJ for being a visionary on that front. As far as a Nat'l Entity taking over from the conferences, I like that idea but I fear the incompetence of the NCAA. I like the idea of standardized training programs for the refs, assigning crews out of their region so that local loyalty is pretty much taken out of it. Mostly though I think they need effective review of the games and problems, it seems like there are many instances where the conference offices just stonewall complaints. But I doubt its going to happen.
Geez, I get as upset at bad calls as anybody, but this can be dragged as far as you want to drag it. Get an "overview" official and then you have the whole game and every contraversial call in the hands of one guy...I don't think so. Assigning crews out of region is fine as far as that goes, but that won't stop the allegations..."yeah, he's an ACC ref but he graduated from an SEC school and his sister went to Stanford and his wife's second cousin went to a B12 school...and he always hated Michigan ever since Lloyd Carr yelled at him." B10 refs catch a lot of grief, and lord knows they miss calls, but they are reviewed and graded after EACH game and every play of every game is reviewed by the head of officials. There is a weekly coaches evaluation of officials after every game. Their jobs are on the line with every call they make. These guys do it for the love of the game and they have forgotten more about football than I'll ever know. The suggestions y'all are making have some validity, but you make it sound like they pick these guys off the street somewhere and give them 30 minutes of training and turn them loose. There are all kinds of folks in NCAA football with a lot more at stake than you or I in having these calls made properly, and I think that they work pretty hard at getting competent, honest folks to do the job for them. Improvements in the system will be made, over time, but there will always be mistakes made and calls will always be made that make one side or the other unhappy. [Off Soapbox] [Flame-retardent suit on]
Well.. <t>"B10 refs catch a lot of grief, and lord knows they miss calls, but they are reviewed and graded after EACH game and every play of every game is reviewed by the head of officials"<br/> <br/> <br/> Then if this is a case these ingrates should be sent packing after that debacle.</t>
Credit Paterno for throwing his weight behind that idea. His influence got the Big 10 started and created a domino effect. We've been through this before. It comes down to $$$$. Most of the refs have regular 9-5 jobs outside of college football. How do you get a referee from Ohio to do a game in Gainsville Florida? Pay for his expenses? What about his time overnight and his time waiting in the airport? Ain't gonna happen. Furthermore, who's to say they would not have any bias? They have a review system in place for many years now. They do get rid of bad refs. I don't think it's as big an issue as it was before instant replay. There is no perfect system out there. At least we haven't had any infamous Colorado 5th downs lately.
AJNJ, I do think you are right that we won't see any Nat'l entity. I think the biggest reason is not money, but that the conferences and coaches in the conference are more comfortable with the devil that they know. Terry
Larry, we have been talking about multiple "debacles" here, and actually most of them don't even involve B10 refs. Which one are you referring to?
We almost had a debacle at the Texas/OSU game when you vaulted out of the car headed for a port a potty! Who'd have thunk there was such a thing as a private porta potty! Not that it involved B10 refs but you are a B10 fan!!
B10 refs have done 3 ND games now. Has Weis been part of the evaluations? OH! To be a non B10 school having to depend on refs whose jobs hang on every call.
I saw that play in the LSU and Auburn game and agree with the call. There is no penalty when the ball is uncatchable and in my opinion the LSU guy could not have caught the pass whether the defender hit him before the ball got there or not. In fact the ball never got to the LSU player, so they did not get robbed. I'm still trying to understand that quote from MCG. :roll: :roll:
I made my last post before I read the article posted below. The SEC released a statement about the interterference that was not called in the endzone and said it was a correct call because the call was not catchable. That is what I thought all along. SEC Statement About Auburn LSU Game
Pac-10 suspends officials for errors that cost OklahomaESPN.com news services NORMAN, Okla. -- The Pacific-10 Conference suspended for one game the officiating crew and the instant replay officials that worked Saturday's Oklahoma-Oregon football game after finding mistakes were made in calls near the end of the contest. Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said Monday that a review by conference officials of video of the game revealed that both the instant replay officials and the game officials assigned by the conference made errors in the final minute and 12 seconds of the game. Oklahoma lost the game 34-33 after Oregon scored two touchdowns near the end of the game. An onside kick by Oregon after its first late touchdown was touched by a Ducks player before it traveled the required 10 yards, and the Pac-10 ruled that the ball should have been awarded to Oklahoma. The league also said that video revealed that an Oklahoma player actually recovered the ball. Officials on the field gave the ball to Oregon, and replay officials did not overturn that decision. During a subsequent play, pass interference was called on Oklahoma, setting up the winning score. The Sooners argued that the ball had been tipped at the line of scrimmage, thereby nullifying the pass interference call. Replay officials did not see indisputable evidence to overturn the penalty. "The fact that the errors on the onside kick altered the outcome of the game is most unfortunate and unsettling," Hansen said in a statement. "We had a solid veteran crew assigned, and the instant replay official had a fine career as a referee in the Pac-10. We believe in the ability and integrity of each individual involved. It should be noted that not all of the seven officials were directly involved in the play in question, but the entire crew bears responsibility for every play. Game officials and replay officials have positions of great responsibility and must be accountable for their actions. "Errors clearly were made and not corrected, and for that we apologize to the University of Oklahoma, coach Bob Stoops and his players. They played an outstanding college football game, as did Oregon, and it is regrettable that the outcome of the contest was affected by the officiating." After the Sooners' practice Monday night, Stoops said the apology brought him no satisfaction. "At least they have reacted to it and tried. Truly there can be no amends to it and it can't be corrected," Stoops said. The loss was Oklahoma's first of the season and immediately lessens the Sooners' chances of making it to a third BCS title game in four years. "I've made a million mistakes. I'll make a million more in each game, and in that game included, I wish there were things I could have done differently or changed," Stoops said. "Unlike officials, players and coaches don't have that opportunity. They had an opportunity to get it right and they chose not to. So I find it still absolutely inexcusable and unacceptable." University of Oklahoma president David Boren sent a letter Monday to Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg, saying the officiating problems was beyond an "outrageous injustice," and asking him to pursue having the game eliminated from the record books and having the officials involved in the game suspended for the remainder of the season. Weiberg responded with a statement saying the result of the game would stand. "There is no provision under NCAA or conference rules for a game result to be reversed or changed as a result of officiating errors, nor do I believe there should be," he said. Boren acknowledged the Pac-10's response to the situation. "I appreciate the apology issued by the Pac-10 Commissioner and his action in penalizing the game officials," Boren said in a statement. "I hope this will lead to further national review of the responsibilities of replay officials and the way in which they interact with game officials on the field. I also hope this situation will lead the Pac-10 to change their policy of requiring that only officials of the Pac-10 officiate the home games of Pac-10 universities when they are hosting a non-conference opponent." Weiberg didn't see the last concern being resolved either. "This policy is well known nationally and institutions, including OU, know this to be the case at the time of entering into contracts to play Pac-10 opponents," he said. Hansen said that the officials will be closely monitored in the future, but he acknowledged that they don't have an easy job. "Officiating on the field is much more difficult than it appears from the stands, and certainly when watching repeated replays," Hansen said. "Plays occur at a high rate of speed. Decisions on the field must be made instantaneously. The training and experience of officials at this level enable them to work at a high degree of accuracy. Unfortunately, at the critical moment of this game errors were made." Hansen said that officials are limited to the available television shots of the action, but "on the kickoff play ample views were available."
We've been through this before. It comes down to $$$$. Most of the refs have regular 9-5 jobs outside of college football. How do you get a referee from Ohio to do a game in Gainsville Florida? Pay for his expenses?" This is why I propose only one "Quality Control official" from out of region. To underscore the importance of having this guy as a highest ranking supervisor in the booth catch this quote from the suspended replay official in the Or-Ok game: In PORTLAND the replay official said "the fact I missed this call is driving me crazy"... Note: In PORTLAND......enough said....or maybe he ended the quote with a muffled...Go Ducks!!!! quack...quack... Or maybe...in PORTLAND...the ref finished his statement with...."gotta wrap this up..my neighbor is treating me to a steak dinner!..quack ..quack.."