The SEC, its refs and the conspiracy theory: No sale, I say
You make the call: Was A.J. Green separating himself? (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Lane Kiffin is upset, not that it takes much to upset Lane Kiffin. Bobby Petrino is upset, not that Bobby Petrino is ever not upset. But Dan Mullen is likewise upset, and to date we’ve had no reason to lump him with the first two.
Mike Slive is upset because the highly compensated coaches in his highly compensated league are throwing a snit fit not seen since Duke and J.J. Redick were perceived to be getting all the calls in another sport in a different highly compensated league. The growing feeling around the South is that SEC refs are doing their part — more than their part, actually — to produce another conference championship game matching the nation’s top two teams. I have one problem with this line of thinking:
Football refs aren’t clever enough to pull off a conspiracy involving one team, let alone two. And I’m not speaking just of SEC refs; I’m speaking of refs in any and every conference.
It’s a little different in basketball, where there are only three officials on the court and the coaches are yelling in their ears all game. One cowed man in a gray shirt can make a huge impact on a basketball game.
But there are seven officials on a college football field, and some of them are stationed so far from the sideline they can’t hear anybody yelling anything. Are we to believe that a crew, which gathers only on weekends and then disperses for six days, is so well drilled that it can conjure up a decisive penalty out of thin air whenever the designated team needs a lift?
Penalties are judgments made at full speed. The personal foul against Arkansas’ Malcolm Sheppard in the Florida game was indeed a poor judgment, but I have to confess: I saw the replay of the sequence on a small TV in the Vanderbilt press box with the sound off and I thought Sheppard slammed into a Gator from behind. After viewing subsequent replays (see below), I realize I was clearly in error. But I can understand how a trailing official might have thought he saw the same thing — a gratuitous knockdown as opposed to a legitimate attempt to fend off a block — I thought I did.
OK, but now you’re asking: What about the celebration penalty on A.J. Green? First of all, I’m not sure how LSU fits into the get-Florida-and-Alabama-to-Atlanta scheme, but never mind. The TV replays showed nothing untoward, as the SEC has since conceded. But esteemed colleague Brant Sanderlin shot photos of the sequence (one is above) that indicated Green might — I said might – have been trying to pull away from his teammates and thereby “call attention to himself.”
I know, I know. It’s a goofy rule and it’s inconsistently applied, but it’s still a rule. And the ref in question, back judge Michael Watson, was standing closer to Green than any TV cameraman got.
About Kiffin’s beef: He has one. Alabama’s Terrence Cody blocked what would have been the game-winning field as time expired and tore off his helmet while the ball was still loose. Should have been a penalty. But would refs in the conference that chastised its men for penalizing Green dare to assess another excessive celebration in another high-profile game?
About Mullen’s: He has one, too. The ball appeared to have been stripped from Florida’s Dustin Doe before he crossed Mississippi State’s goal line with his interception. The replay official should have righted what the field officials failed to catch. But he didn’t. In my mind, that’s the worst of all the missed calls — one that was apparent after review but left in error.
But here’s the thing: The refs didn’t hand Doe the ball in the first place; he intercepted it. The refs didn’t guide the Tennessee kick into Cody’s hand; he blocked it. Refs are reacting to situations, not creating them. Sometimes they get it wrong. Most times they get it right. And one thing more:
SEC refs are better than ACC refs any day.
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254 comments Add your comment
EW
October 28th, 2009
2:15 pm
Oh m, what a sad, angry life you lead. Is it cold down there in the basement? I think I left a Mountain Dew behind the furnace for you. Hang in ther buddy, let me know when your GameBoy batteries run out and I’ll make your mom get out of bed and bring them to you. I’ll spare you the misery and let you out after the Tech beatdown. It would be too crushing of a blow for you to see your guys lose again after getting your hopes up so much after last year.
Tom
October 28th, 2009
2:16 pm
oops, meant “head of ACC officiating” (Doug Rhoads)
BG
October 28th, 2009
2:17 pm
UF always gets the calls Bradley. I wonder how much money these refs are getting from UF alumni????
junebaby
October 28th, 2009
2:19 pm
Mark,… it doesn’t take all the referees to be involved to affect the outcome of a game. there can be as few as one or two, calling penalties at opportune moments of the game. and, as you know from history, this has happened more than a few times. and it’s not necessarily a league thing, but a school thing! it doesn’t take a great leap, for example, to find alabama or florida boosters paying off officials, because it’s extremely important for them to consider themselves the best in the sec. we know what alabama boosters are capable of doing, it’s been proven in the past! i hope that it’s not true, but only a fool could think it’s not possible!
Scoob
October 28th, 2009
2:19 pm
Mark,
Don’t forget about the refs allowing Tim Tebow to do WHATEVER he wants on the field during play. I think that is the most favoritism out of all the previously mentioned errors…
Delbert D.
October 28th, 2009
2:19 pm
Joe – Interesting question…which is worse, an incompetent official, or an official who is incompetent as a conspirator?
DP
October 28th, 2009
2:20 pm
Yellow=pee, the SEC crew that worked the Alabama-South Carolina game in Tuscaloosa the week before must not have gotten the memo to favor Alabama, as South Carolina had 5 penalties for 60 yards and Alabama had 10 for 113.
Joe
October 28th, 2009
2:21 pm
Tom, the ref who threw the flag on Green was not a Gtu grad, however, the head of the crew, Quarles(sp?) is a Gtu grad. Therefore, the final say in a judgement call belongs to him.
Al Ford was the instant replay guy that day. Seriously? Al friggin Ford? The guy who made one of the worst missed calls in recent CFB memory?
And, if true about the head of ACC refs being a UF grad, I am sure that the FSU fans who know that grumble about it every time a disputable call goes against them.
That brings up another point about the refs-transparency. Try finding out who the refs for an SEC game will be this weekend. Go ahead, and I will wait here until someone comes back with the answer.
David Smith
October 28th, 2009
2:26 pm
The SEC officials suck,plain and simple,Mark! The NCAA needs to be put in charge of all the Conferences officials. Thanks for the lousy article(And the expected cheap shot at Coach Kiffin,to be expected from a writer with a pro Georgia and Kentucky bias.).
Tide Rising
October 28th, 2009
2:26 pm
Conspiracy theories are the hobgoblins of little minds.
GT
October 28th, 2009
2:26 pm
All you say is well and good. The problem we have here is there could be a conspiracy and the monkey is there because of the money flying around in college football, especially in the SEC. Refs is the ACC might cheat all day but it wouldn’t help the ACC, namely Tech, get into the national championship game. The jig is up with a honest conference, before the game even begins. The only real contenders ever in the ACC were outlaw schools that now educate students, but do not win championships. I think this thing cuts deeper than just the refs. I think the SEC and Big Ten control the perception of college football, like old blue bloods allowing who they want, blackballing who they don’t. Utah beat Alabama last year rather handily and went undefeated. Alabama is now headed for a national championship as if that never happen, last year. Ohio State goes to the NC game loses while five teams that could beat them stayed home, the next year the same. How many times do you have to prove the Big 10 is a has been? It does not matter they still has one of the biggest television audience in football. Dirty refs are just the last bit of turning up after millions have been spent on elbowing the others out of the beauty contest. It is when a 300 pounder wins the crown you start to ask questions and conspiracy is the only logical answer. Even the press plays dumb, so maybe the primes is right here and maybe we have a bunch of intellectually challenged people that happen to be in the right place to control college football….
Ragin Cajun
October 28th, 2009
2:28 pm
You know – you DAWG fans are almost too pathetic to warrant a comment on your continual whining about the officiating – particularly the call against Green. Did it ever occur to you pathetic losers that if you had COVERED the freak’n kickoff and then not allowed the RB for LSU to run 37 yards for a TD (of which he would have scored had they been on their own 20) that GA would have won?? Besides – GA still got the ball back (on an excessive celebration pay back call against LSU) with 58 seconds left. What happened to your glorious kick return guys that you couldn’t even advance it beyond the 35 – even with the 15 yard pay-back penalty. Just quit crying and win a game against a decent team (not talking about Vandy or UL-F).
Blue
October 28th, 2009
2:29 pm
I’m going to pretend to be a “dawg” on this blog; “wahhhh…Tim Tebow gets to celebrate…wahhh…Tim Tebow gets to do the chomp…wahhh…Tim Tebow gets to pump his fists”. What a bunch of freaking crybabies! “Wahhh…the officials don’t like us because we celebrated 2 years ago, so not we never get calls”. Go back to your tar-paper shacks in the back woods and cry to mommy.
KJ
October 28th, 2009
2:30 pm
Oh noes, Vance failed to yield with an expired license, let’s just give him the chair. Ugh, only pathetic life-losers like POAD would even think of kicking a player off the team for something like this.
But seriously, do we need a drivers license renewal coach at UGA? Come to think of it, that sounds like a position that Willie might, MIGHT be able to handle without screwing up.
F-105 Thunderchief
October 28th, 2009
2:32 pm
On every sack, tackle for a loss, or just a good lick, defenders get up, strutting, shaking their heads and thumping their chests. THAT is what deserves an unsportsmanlike penalty. Every time.
What's UP
October 28th, 2009
2:32 pm
Hey Mark Bradley – You just showed your true colors when you had to take a swipe at the ACC on your last comment. Are you becoming obnoxious like most UGA fans – where to make your self and your team look better (from your own pathetic perspective) you have to put down the ACC? Well, I hope you feel better. But I do know that I will always from here on out view your comments as biased against Tech and the ACC. Sorry – you blew your hand.
Delbert D.
October 28th, 2009
2:33 pm
Put the NCAA in charge of the officials? Yikes!!! Might as well put the BCS in charge!
Afternoon Links | MrSEC.com
October 28th, 2009
2:33 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of The AJC doesn’t understand that the a flag against Terrence Cody would not have made any difference in Saturday’s Tennessee-Alabama game. (But he goes on to make a good point that officials [...]
notafan
October 28th, 2009
2:36 pm
Georgia fans on blogs are some truly pathetic creatures. You have a poorly coached, average football team, barely won three games this year, and have the audacity to whine about officials in a “conspiracy” or that they “have it in for poor Georgia”. You people are so lame and stupid; it is no wonder the entire country looks at you and laughs. Where are all of those “top recruiting classes”? Oh yeah, you have a very big stadium, right?
LHardingDawg
October 28th, 2009
2:43 pm
Maybe with all this attention with the refs, the Gators might not get their obligatory free touchdown from the refs this weekend. A rare evenly called game could be interesting.
The Ghost of Johnny Griffith
October 28th, 2009
2:46 pm
I think we UGA fans should keep our mouths shut about refs missing calls. Anybody watched what AJ Green does to D-Backs? If his push-offs and jersey grabbing ain’t offensive pass interference, I don’t know what is. No wonder he is free to make great catches.
Georgia is next
October 28th, 2009
2:49 pm
Good Luck moving the ball against the Flolida D. 7 Games = 4 Touchdowns Allowed, 58 Points Surrendered…………..by the defense. UGA can thank the refs for Florida’s domination this year as a defensive unit.
GeoffDawg
October 28th, 2009
2:52 pm
Ragin Cajun – I’m not sure which is higher, your IQ or your tooth count. It’s tiresome going into the same reasons over and over why that bad call was a gamechanger. So, suffice it to say, you’re an idiot.
Eric
October 28th, 2009
2:54 pm
It’s not the refs who do it. They are told to do it by someone or some group. You don’t have so many bad calls go the same way for the same team without some kind of shady operation. With all the inethical behavior we see today and the rise in crime, why would anyone think this wouldn’t happen. There are tens of millions of dollars at stake.
GeoffDawg
October 28th, 2009
2:54 pm
Tide Rising – in the case of Hillary Clinton, that was a conspiracy theory made by a hobgoblin.
Raleigh
October 28th, 2009
2:55 pm
I saw a documentary some years ago about refs getting ready to officiate a game. They did conspire. They talked about what to watch for “that” game. They talked about instructions about how tight or not tight to call certain things. I was astonished. Sure enough in the game, those calls were made. That seems like mild conspiracy to me.
LHardingDawg
October 28th, 2009
2:55 pm
I think Blue and notafan should get married. Of course, they will have to go to Vermont.
Delbert D.
October 28th, 2009
2:56 pm
“One is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”
Ian Fleming, “Goldfinger”
Topp Dogg
October 28th, 2009
2:58 pm
I know you must realize how much money the SEC stands to make off of two teams ranked 1 and 2 in the country,but yet you write this sh#t.We all have eyes and can see whats going on. Rankings ,bowls, and matchups are equal to money in the bank or in M Slives pocket .
Villa Rica DAWG
October 28th, 2009
2:59 pm
It was pretty clear to me on both the UF/AR and UGA/LSU games that both calls were complete BS – before the SEC came out and said I was right.
For the record, I wanted to UT to win against BAMA. However, the game was effing over. I’m glad that call wasn’t made. Kiffin needs to worry about his kicking squad who went 1 for 4, not the refs calling a stupid penalty that would have been unfounded and would have decided the game.
Not sure about the Miss State UF scenario. I guess I wasn’t paying attention on that one…
ScootDawg
October 28th, 2009
2:59 pm
mark, one thing, do you make a call on something that you thought happened if you’re a ref or if you saw it happen? Calls are decision that are made by observations or judgements as you put above so on the call at LSU/FL with the block by Sheppard, if ref had same thought process you did, but didn’t see it, then why make a call????? That miffs me, you’re better than that. Don’t make a call unless you see it happen and sometimes those are right and sometimes they are wrong, but they need to be seen and clearly that was 2 football players being football players if the ref was watching!!
Ragin Cajun
October 28th, 2009
3:00 pm
No GeoffDawg – you are just like most other UGA fans, pathetic whiners, who – because of the logic you lack and your pure obsession with your beloved Dawgs causes you to lose complete objectivity – feel like you have to belittle someone else who may make a objective (yes, you are fee to look that word up in the dictionary) comment that may go contrary to your liking concerning the dawgs. I sure hope that made you feel better – but since I understand where it is coming from I just have to laugh. Now – talk about IQ?
Biff Dawg
October 28th, 2009
3:01 pm
Ragin Cajun First this article wasn’t just about Georgia getting bad calls it appears as if there are a couple of more teams complaining. Second Georgia had just made a spectacular drive to score possibly the winning touchdown and then the rug was pulled out from underneath them. You don’t think emotion has anything to do with it? Do you honestly think you would be running the ball from the 20? You weren’t doing much with the passing game. Why should Georgia have to worry about field position after making one great drive because a ref screwed up. It’s like saying LSU shouldn’t have let AJ catch the ball so the ref didn’t have to call the penalty so LSU could get great field position. There is also video that shows Georgia had 3 men on both sides of the kicker so the additional 5 yards was bull. As far as Georgia stopping the touchdown run the only chance Georgia had to get the ball back was let him score because LSU would just run the ball and let the clock wind down. The game is one of inches and highs and lows and if the call isn’t made (including the additional 5) LSU had the ball on average the 27 after kick offs they would have been passing and getting no where. Georgia would have been on a high not a low.
read n black
October 28th, 2009
3:03 pm
You’re an idiot. They should put your mom and uncle in jail!
GeoffDawg
October 28th, 2009
3:05 pm
“Pathetic” and “whining” are not terms generally associated with being objective cajun. The rest of your diatribe reinforces my initial impression of your mental faculties. Thanks for the confirmation.
Saint Simon
October 28th, 2009
3:05 pm
i likes men, i likes football players, i likes hairy men
Adam
October 28th, 2009
3:06 pm
SEC refs better than ACC. First, why would you make such a irrelevant comment? Second, how would you know? Are you basing it on their salary? Do you know their salaries? Since the ACC has improved to the level of the ACC this year football wise, is your argument now going to be we have better refs?? Stupid lame comment. Are officials that work afc games better than nfc? One thing I would say is after looking at some of the horrible missed calls by sec officials via replay, I surely wouldn’t be saying how great they are. And those making excuses for them are part of the problem. Replay was suppose to get the call right. Yet in many cases, they don’t even when the entire crowd an announcers see the right call. That is what is called manipulation. The refs in the sec could learn a lot from refs from other leagues that don’t screw teams for whatever reason. It seems the decay in morals and ethics has made it’s way to college football.
Matt
October 28th, 2009
3:06 pm
Mark, you are educating us with Wiki definitions?? I now know the definition and origin of “kudos”. I feel….dirty. This blog is supposed to be a haven for the unwashed and uneducated.
Must wash knowledge off immediately!!
WildBill
October 28th, 2009
3:06 pm
Mark, I don’t believe you thought this one through before you began writing your opinion. It doesn’t take collusion for all the refs, it just takes one to make a call that will change the outcome of the game. This ref thing stinks to high heaven in that at least 3 of the bogus calls came in the last minute of play. Even an amateur football fan can see the bias expressed by the refs in favor of Fla, Ala, and LSU. I heartily support the coaches who stand up for their teams and their fans. Lastly, I believe the SEC commissioner did not think his position through either with his reprimands of Kiffin and Mullen. I support Kiffen and Mullen and believe an investigation should be held into improprieties in the SEC itself.
Navigator
October 28th, 2009
3:09 pm
I agree and disagree with your reasoning. No I don’t think there is a mass conspiracy, but I do thing individuals and certain groups of refs show they are leaning one way or the other during certain games. EX: How many times have you seen refs give bad spots for one team and liberal spots for the other. One team constantly holds, but the other doesn’t (even though you see them obviously holding on many plays). There is already proof that refs are caught or under suspension of throwing games. The problem is that no League wants that kind of bad publicity and ignore or even hide the evidence that it is going on. Teams that continually get home cooking refs (my short list): Notre Dame, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and Southern Cal. If you go back through their seasons and weigh bad calls versus favorable, these teams always come out in the plus.
Tom
October 28th, 2009
3:10 pm
I have yet to see an SEC crew “forget” to stop the game clock to move the chains after a first down.
Playa
October 28th, 2009
3:11 pm
If you want to see a major ref screw up, turn on espn classic for the Co Mi game from 1990. The 5th down on the final drive of the game. Them refs sure do a good job!
wheelz007
October 28th, 2009
3:12 pm
So what happens after Nov 7th when LSU beats Alabama?
I dont’ think the the fix is in.
I think Florida and Alabama have their flaws (like everyone else) and opponents have managed to hang in there against them.
Barry from Eastenders
October 28th, 2009
3:13 pm
Mark — If you had any doubts about how off base you are with your analysis, you should stop pondering this any further — you and Ramble On!!! are in complete agreement. Well done sir, well done.
Conspiracy? No. Favoritism? Certainly. Incompetence? Without question.
Was it a “conspiracy” that got MJ every call? Was it a conspiracy that led to his never being called for traveling? No, on either question. However, it was clearly favoritism or whatever you want to call it. It was an inconsistent and unfair application of the rules, which has clearly been the case with Tebow. As David Hale of the Macon Telegraph correctly stated on his blog, Tebow can “launch bottle rockets from the 50 yard line and do Irish step dances” after every inconsequential 2 yd pickup and you get crickets from the SEC refs. So, what do you call that Mark? Good and fair officiating?
Keith
October 28th, 2009
3:14 pm
Navigator
And we will never have a true champion of CF until they get rid of the current system and get a playoff. Think how many potential NC games uga could have made if there was a playoff. Instead it’s those same teams you mentioned year in year out that play for it. What I am really hoping for is Iowa to go 12-0 along with TCU and they get the shaft and two one loss teams get voted in like fla or bama versus a crap usc team. That would be enough to get this scam changed.
Watchdog
October 28th, 2009
3:15 pm
Vince Vance – The latest UGA criminal, congrats.
Tide Rising
October 28th, 2009
3:16 pm
GeoffDawg,
Good one. Have to admit it made me chuckle as I’m always up for a good Hillary joke.
jsanders
October 28th, 2009
3:16 pm
I dont think its a conspiracy at all but definately there are bias’ against teams not named Florida. People are complaining bout the fumble by Fl at the goal line but to me the real issue was he didnt get flagged for showboating by highstepping his way to the endzone. WHY???How about when Fl played LSU, Fl’s one td came after the reciever held the LSU db and pulled away from him. Another no call against Fl. WHY?? UGA getting the unsportsman calls wouldnt bother me as much if the same calls were levied against Fl. To the person who says about the LSU game their rb ran for that 30yd td to win the game, did you even see the game? On that play Rennie Curran was tackled from behind while Scott was at the line of scrimmage or else he may have made the tackle. On that play LSU should have been flagged for holding or least block in the back, but nothing was called. They should have backed LSU up and made em do it again, but they didn’t. WHY?? There was another game where AJ Green scored a td by dragging his toe in the endzone as he caught the ball, refs on the field called it out of bounds no td. The replays CLEARLY showed from several angles that it was a td but the replay official did not overturn it. WHY??? Against Vandy, Smith was flagged for throwing the ball down from about his waisteline and was flagged but when Vandy ripped Joe Cox’s towel from him and threw it in the air there was no flag. WHY??? There is no way refs are not still holding a grudge on UGA for the dance incident two years ago. I dont think its a conspiracy at all but we do get the worst end of all the calls even when they are clearly wrong. I think on our first td this Sat against Fl the whole team should go on the field again and dance their butts off. Yeah we’ll get flagged but who cares at this point, we are probably going to get flagged if we get anywhere colse to Teblow anyway, might as well make it worth it.
HDawg09
October 28th, 2009
3:16 pm
I hate to think there is a conspiracy theory, but it is very hard to at least not wonder out loud. UGA got blatantly screwed against LSU and it was admitted. The Mississippi Sate call was awful and what made it worse was the little time they took to review it. I admit I was cheering against UF and Bama but the calls speak for themselves.
When watching the UT/Bama game I was amazed. Cody jumped offsides on the very first UT series and wasn’t called for it. From here on I was paying attention. There were several calls against UT that were iffy at best and several shown on the replay that weren’t called on Bama. When I heard the stat that UT was the 2nd least penalized team in the country before that game yet had 9 penalties compared to 1 for Bama, that sealed it for me. I hate taking Mullen’s and especially Lame’s side but I would be ticked off too. 9 penalties to 1 penalty? Pathetic and proves that the UGA/LSU, MissSt/UF, and Ark/UF game were not just coincidences.
Is Slive really wanting a fair game or is his job based mostly on the profits gained by the conference? More BCS teams and a national champ equals more money. Follow the money!
Ragin Cajun
October 28th, 2009
3:17 pm
Hold on GeoffDawg – while I get my dentures back out – them are fight’n words. LOL