Not that I have a big beef with the fumble call in the Auburn-Fla game because I don't think the Gators put their best foot forward anyway but this little tidbit from a Gator message board on the replay official is hard to believe: "Al Ford was the replay official. His son went to AU and he was the replay official when LSU got screwed at AU. He has been suspended before. The on field crew was the same from the UT/UF game, I'm pretty sure. Basically, Auburn should build a shrine to Al Ford." Can someone explain to me how in the hell the SEC can let this F'wad who obviously has ties to Auburn be the effin replay official for this game??? Is this how things are being run in the SEC??? I hope this is NOT true.
I think there is growing concern all across the nation with offical incompetence, appearance of favoritism, etc. Just like the growing dissatisfaction with not using available technology to aid the officals forced the instant replay on the NCAA. The way that the replay officals are either poorly trained, incompetent, or out and out cheaters is causing a lot of furor as well and will result in changes. The solution is clearly to take the conference office out of the equation and to assign officals to games, esp big games of national importance who are unquestionably neutral. Terry
That's what I have been suggesting for weeks as you know Terry but everyone thinks it's funny until it happens to their team.
umm <t>I don't think I can remember a game in which you didn't blame the officials, or quote other Gator fans who blame then, aside from perhaps the Miss State or Nebraska games years back. That's what is funny. <br/> <br/> You didn't seem to concerned when ND went nearly half the season without their opponents being called for holding. Why should we be concerned now?<br/> <br/> I will say this. This is the South. Its more like 3 degrees of seperation, not 6. You don't have to go far to find some kind of link to someone, somewhere and paint it to look like its more than it is.</t>
A team gets shutout and gains all of 90 f'in yrds in the whole second half and they lose because of the officials. Christ, Fla. is replacing Michigan as the team that never loses, it always gets jobbed. Look at the replay. Leak has the ball below shoulder level. It is impossible to throw the ball from that position. He'd stopped and was trying to pull the ball back when he dropped it. That's the way it looked to me. That's the way it looked to the on field officials, That's the way it looked to the replay officials. Apparently the only ones who saw something else were the "we're always robbed" Gator fans.
You haven't read my posts on this game IC. Leak fumbled in my opinion....but Meyer definitely should not have had to burn his last time out to have it reviewed. The Gators in general and especially Leak made too many mistakes to win the game. Otherwise...you're full of it if you think it's ok to have the replay official doing the game have a son who went to one of the participating schools. That should be unacceptable to any college football fan who believes in the integrity of the game. That is highschool stuff...not major college football stuff.
Keep in mind for a moment Gipper that I say UF made enough mistakes in the game to lose and they did and I agree with you that Leak fumbled. That said....can you explain with your keen football eye..you and Corey...what is it about Florida that is so undisciplined....so sloppy...so vicious that they are by the graphic posted by ESPN during the game .."The most penalized team in the NCAA"? I have seen a lot of college football this year and I have seen UF in person and I truly can't see that UF is so different from the teams they play in execution and discipline that they should be the most penalized team in America. And to think everybody thinks Urban Meyer is a decent football coach!
NCAA stats are kept by yds. penalized per game. There are 20 teams with more penalty yardage per game than Fla. They just don't cry as much about penalties. And while Fla. is ranked 99th ND is 92nd. My keen eye tells me that you're a cronic whiner about officials that will bitch about something everytime the Gators lose.
Gipper.....you obviously won't accept that I don't blame the officials for this loss. I do however have issues with the replay official of a huge game of national importance having a son that went to Auburn and with UF being annointed the most penalized team in the NCAA. I thought I saw a stat of 9.5 penalties per game on ESPN as their stat to illustrate it. You want to shoot the messenger as usual. On the replay official I sure don't want the replay official of Mich-OSU having the same kind of family ties as this. That's a keg of dynamite.
Just so I'm clear, if you are an official in the SEC and you have children that attend one or more SEC schools you're now unfit to officiate games. I hope that they only hire childless high school grads to officiate down there.
Sorry to shoot the messenger, but Meyer's teams are typically heavily penalized. I'm sure it has something to do with the type of offense he runs and his general aggressive philosophy. Even during his best year 2004 at Utah , Utah averaged 7.3 penalties a game. His teams are always top 25 in penalties so you better get used to it. Teams that typically lead the nation in penalties are FSU, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech to mention a few.
In looking at the replays it is incomprehensible that the replay ref would not review it without a coach's challenge. Otherwise...there is definite forward motion in Leak's arm. Note the best angles are in the mid portion of the clip. If forward motion is all that is required then it was not a fumble....but he threw a pick later that threw the game away anyway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg3fYyn8ifs
Because even games not directly involving schools can have an impact on conference standings. And if there's any possibility of a connection, some clown on the Gator boards will post it.
I don't know anything about the "intent" rule. To me, it looks like an incomplete pass. However, if that is the case, intentional grounding would be appropriate.
Intentional grounding obviously would have been far less damaging that what occurred. That is exactly what I thought after I reviewed the play in this clip. He seems more to have been making that motion when I look at the clip but in any event it was a boneheaded play and UF paid the price. You don't give the refs at Auburn the chance to wreck your day as Leak did on that play.
great googly gators <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> that really says it all. <br/> <br/> you dont blame the refs, but then you do.<br/> <br/> and Gip beat me to the point about hiring gay yankees as officials for Florida football fans... but then again, wouldn't that favor Florida since the grandchildren of the snowbirds just might be doing the games?<br/> <br/> Your hiring criteria is frightening. Why don't we just ask Spurrier to schedule his games on Thursday so he can work a crew with Wuerfel, Grossman, Alex Brown, Emitt Smith and a few other Gators. Somehow I suspect you'd find someone who had a cousin who went to the opponent's school and their Gator allegiance would be immediately questioned.<br/> <br/> You lost because you stopped running between the tackles.</r>
I like the Youtube videos...that clip shows me that his arm was comming forward, that he probably was trying to stop his throw due to the Aub guy who was flying at him, but then lost his grip and the ball. I don't see how it wasn't a incomplete pass to tell you the truth.