With comments that are sure to draw a response from league commissioner Mike Slive, Mississippi Coach Dan Mullen spoke out against the officiating crew that called the Florida – Miss. State game. Specifically, he singled out the replay officials and misuse of the replay process as a tool for improving officiating. Mullen cites a play in the fourth quarter where the Gators scored on an interception, but replays showed that the ball appeared to be stripped before he crossed the goal line. Had officials reviewed it, the play would likely been overturned giving Miss. State the ball back. This is the second time in 2 weeks SEC officials have made blunders benefiting undefeated Florida in close conference games. In addition, undefeated Alabama dodged a bullet when officials declined to flag Terrance Cody from ripping off his helmet in celebration while the game’s final play was still live. Naturally, critics are citing favoritism by officials who may be trying to rig an all SEC BCS title game by sending the nation’s 2 top-rated teams into the SEC Title game undefeated. Whether there is a conspiracy or not, Slive better clean-up the SEC fast because while it has the best football in the country, it also has the worst officials in the country, and the two are becoming hard to separate.
You are incorrect in your analogy of the blocked kick resulting in a 5 yard penalty and UT re-kick. There were only 4 seconds on the dame clock when the play began..the clock was at 2 seconds when the block occurred, 1 second when the ball bounced to the ground and was recovered by AL, and 0 when Cody removed his headgear. Even if time had not already expired, the result would have been a penalty marked off against AL on the following play (since they covered the blocked kick). Neither scenario would have placed the ball back in UT’s possession to allow a re-kick.
It’s weird to me how all of these bad calls are being brought to so much light because the coaches are throwing fits about them, when Gene Chizik took his in stride and congratulated LSU after LSU scored 21 points that the referees gave them. LSU’s first drive had a lot of bad defensive penalties that never happened, and Sheppards “amazing” 69 yard run that was made possible by an ‘incredible’ block. The offensive lineman was holding the Auburn defenders shoulder pad. There were a lot of no calls in that game, but there were even more calls in that game that favored LSU. I’m an Alabama fan, and even I was disgusted with that game.
Tennesse coach Layne Kiffin has been reprimanded again by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive for questioning why Alamaba’s Terrance Cody wasn’t penalized. Instead of offering up an answer to Kiffin’s question, Slive penalized him, which to me suggests he wants all talk of bad SEC officiating silenced and swept under the rug. Which then begs the question, why does Mike Slive think should have been or not have been called?