LSU athletic director Skip Bertman sharply criticized the officiating in last Saturday's game at Auburn as well as the Southeastern Conference's subsequent backing of the officials' decisions on two key calls. Link To Original Article
Looks like the entire athletic dept is set on making the SEC look at this a little closer for future games. It is obvious that this is a screwed up interpretation of the rule. It all falls in the same boat as the "tuck rule" which Jake Delhomme got away with this past sunday and that was an obvious fumble.
"There were obviously a number of calls by SEC officials in our game against Auburn that had a dramatic impact on the game," Bertman said. "Coach Miles went through the proper procedure of addressing these calls with the SEC Office and I appreciate the manner in which he has expressed his dissatisfaction with the officials' decisions."
Let me also say there were numerous late hits by Auburn in this game and not one of them were called. I feel that everyone is marking the calender for our next showdown, this game won't be forgotten for a long time. Having said this I can't wait until we play Tulane to get this behind us but the sting will linger until we meet AU at Tiger Stadium.
Yup Sourdough....that day when we play AU next year in Death Valley, that will be a day that will go down in history. OMG I cannot imagine the amount of payback AU will have to deal with. I can't wait for that night. For now though, watch out Tulane...you're next.
Guys, maybe this was previously posted, but I don't have a chance to read every posting.....so I was wondering....if the referees decided that Auburn did not "interfere" with Doucet b/c Brock tipped the ball, shouldn't the call have been (in the least) a HOLDING penalty?
Not sure about the holding, but even if the ball was tipped and the SEC agrees with the officials, it's STILL WRONG! The NCAA rule book clearly states contact with the receiver CANNOT take place until the ball is either tipped or caught. Interference was clearly taking place prior to that ball being tipped. This is why I'm so ticked. The call was CORRECT before it was overturned no matter what the SEC says. They need to take a look at the rule book themselves.
If the ball is not yet thrown, it's holding. Once the ball is in the air it's interference. Whether the ball was catchable is a judgement call. Clearly, the ball was tipped before the ball got to Early and just as clearly, the defender interfered with the receiver. Whether Early could have had a shot at the ball despite the tip is disputable, but entirely possible. The PI call should have been made. But it wasn't.