I put together a video of how PSU has been hosed in our close games against OSU recently (we've also been blown out...so no argument there! ). The 2014 game, in particular, had far-sweeping national ramifications. The refs gave OSU 10 points at least...and other suspect calls may have cost PSU clear points. In a 2OT game, that is HUGE.

Anyway, few of you care about PSU...but by OSU winning that game, Baylor and TCU's chance at the playoff were impacted. Which, in turn, may have changed the future of the Big 12 conference since they were left out and became "psychologically disadvantaged." Alabama, the #1 seed, had to play a surging OSU instead...a team that wouldn't have made it in the playoff at 11-2, even if they still killed Wisconsin 59-0. And maybe Oregon would have fared better against Alabama than Ohio State...???

It seems like every conference's officials get made fun of...and ineptitude certainly is frustrating. But what's far more disheartening is BIAS in league officials. One or two big calls which go in Alabama's favor on Saturday (or TAMU's) could change not just the course of the game...but of the entire national landscape for the season.

Thoughts?

(Here's the link to my 2014 Ohio State video.)

The short answer is "yes." FBS college football should absolutely have a national pool of officials.

And I am perplexed as to why the B1G continues to employ John O'Neill as a referee. That guy has had issues for a decade now.

As a fellow Nittany Lion, I don't believe in the conspiracy theories. But O'Neill does deserve to be fired.

Why do you think officials sitting in New York would get replay reviews right more often than replay officials at the stadium or at a conference's HQ?

Officials make mistakes. (As do players and coaches.) Some of 'em make lots of mistakes. But there are very few calls that seem so suspicious as to make a claim of "bias" or "fixed" reasonable. And even if there is some bias, there are hundreds of non-reviewable calls or non-calls in every game (eg holding or pass interference) that even if they were the product of bias, they couldn't be corrected by the mythical unbiased guy looking at a monitor 1,000 miles from the stadium.

(10-10-2016 02:49 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Why do you think officials sitting in New York would get replay reviews right more often than replay officials at the stadium or at a conference's HQ?

The simple answer is that it reduces --- at least the appearance of --- a conflict of interest.

There is big money at stake in terms of getting your conference's teams into the playoff or NY6 Bowl games.

Texas @ Kansas in 2004 is the most infamous example of an apparent conflict of interest. I still remember watching that game. The officiating in the 4th quarter of that game was terrible. And every single call happened to favor the team gunning for the At-Large BCS bid.

What a coincidence.

Are you talking about just having an independent office to look at reviewable calls? Or are you suggesting that all cfb officials should be hired, trained, evaluated and assigned by an independent body (or just by the NCAA)?

I suspect that conferences like the B1G would be reluctant to dip into the same officiating pool as the Sunbelt or C-USA. I'm sure they feel their own officials are better qualified and trained, just because they can (theoretically) afford the best available.

(10-10-2016 03:03 PM)Nittany_Bearcat Wrote:  

(10-10-2016 02:49 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Why do you think officials sitting in New York would get replay reviews right more often than replay officials at the stadium or at a conference's HQ?

The simple answer is that it reduces --- at least the appearance of --- a conflict of interest.

There is big money at stake in terms of getting your conference's teams into the playoff or NY6 Bowl games.

Texas @ Kansas in 2004 is the most infamous example of an apparent conflict of interest. I still remember watching that game. The officiating in the 4th quarter of that game was terrible. And every single call happened to favor the team gunning for the At-Large BCS bid.

What a coincidence.

Even if so, over 90% of those calls would have been unreviewable even if replay had been used then. If a ref is really paid off or just biased, he could just "fix" calls that are unreviewable.

Worst "big" call I can remember in recent years was a bogus taunting penalty against Oregon that cost them a chance to come back and beat Arizona. (The Ducks made the playoff that year anyway, as it turned out.) I have no reason to believe the official was biased; it was probably just an overzealous error in judgment. But regardless of motivation it was unreviewable.

Yes.

(10-10-2016 03:16 PM)ken d Wrote:  Are you talking about just having an independent office to look at reviewable calls? Or are you suggesting that all cfb officials should be hired, trained, evaluated and assigned by an independent body (or just by the NCAA)?

I suspect that conferences like the B1G would be reluctant to dip into the same officiating pool as the Sunbelt or C-USA. I'm sure they feel their own officials are better qualified and trained, just because they can (theoretically) afford the best available.

I don't really know. The conference share refs in bowl games (and Big Ten schools get called for way more holds than they do in conference, I know that). The Power 5 conferences can at least share refs...and the G5 conferences could do the same.

These refs are all jumping on planes each week (for the most part) anyway. So, creating crews that bounce around somewhat would be great. One crew can do ACC/SEC/Big Ten...another can do Pac-12/Big 12...another can cover SEC/ACC...another can cover Big Ten/Big 12. And crews that severely screw up games (like O'Neill's crew for PSU in 2014) don't get called up the next week.

Humans are prone to bias. And since most of the Big Ten refs hail from Michigan or Ohio, it's kind of natural that they'd skew towards the large fan base/peer pressure/childhood upbringing of "home." And I think it's more "bias" that we are talking about here more than blatant conspiracy.

The thinking goes, "This is the national power Ohio State and the great Urban Meyer going up against tainted and mediocre Penn State...I bet he DID actually intercept that ball and I don't think the play clock actually hit zero before the ball was snapped...because Ohio State is on track to get to the CFP and Penn State might not make a bowl..."

Yes. You could have less bias that way.