Well, today the Big-12 has the best official evaluations in the country. Fans in the SEC are tired of SEC second-rate officiating and are complaining. http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=1592347
Based on what, red? Their review process noted in the article isn't different than the SEC reviews. General Dick Burleson is the guy in charge of the command center in the SEC offices. This is one conference we can eliminate from "outside review" as @Winston1 suggests.
Is it possible that you haven't hear the outcry from all over the SEC for better officiating? Do you think all is fine? It is time for Division I to hire professional officials, pay them well, and fire them regularly for underperformance.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I don't think the SEC officials are corrupt or owned by Bama. I think many of them are incompetent. I also think that they tend to favor the SEC frontrunner so as to insure that the SEC has the highest ranked team. This may be subconscious or conscious, but many have observed it. LSU has benefitted in years that were were frontrunners. Bama has just been in that position a lot more in the last four years.
That's not the point. Have I heard the outcry? As much from SEC fans as any other conference. Can officiating improve? Yes, across the board. I'm questioning what's been posted. @Winston1 claiming outside reviews where I've seen no reference of such. I very well could be wrong but I've not seen such. You mention "the Big-12 has the best official evaluations in the country" and the SEC's review process is practically identical. What sets them apart? Unless the NFL has changed since last season their officials are employed much like collegiate officials—as part time employees. For D1 to move to full time officials seems like a smart move but it also seems like it's unlikely with the league avoiding that scenario as well.
So, ask Winston. I posted what the Big-12 evaluations were like. How exactly does the SEC review officials? Is it as transparent as the Big-12? The NFL has officiating issues too, and has talked of professional officials, as in Major League Baseball.
I can't go that far but there's is no denying I've seen instances in games where I've wondered "how did they miss that?" There's one constant I've observed over the years with the "outcry" over officiating. There are a lot of college football fans that point to different plays demanding there should have been a flag when those same fans simply don't know the rule book. I can think of no better example than the Quinton Dial hit on Aaron Murray last season when we had fans saying "the QB is off-limits" or "he was defenseless." There is no denying the FACT we have a disparity in the crews in the SEC. With some, like Penn Wagers crew, you're just waiting for a call to be missed or blown. Penn lives just down the road from me and knowing him as I do I know he's far, far from incompetent. Yet, I wonder to this day how a guy as successful as he is in finance can't count 12 players on the field—just as one example.
As you see, I did, and I'm left with an thinly veiled attempt at smack talk. The only thing I see different in the way the SEC officials handle their evaluations as compared to what you linked is the SEC crews start their reviews immediately following the game. Now, the Big12 may do the same thing and it's just not mentioned in the link you provided. I know the SEC officials met this month and reviewed tapes from last year just as a measure to clarify calls, rules, etc. and then moved on to discussing the new rules implemented this fall. An interesting word, "transparent." Transparent to whom? How?
Read the post again Tap. And Shaw's wrong on this one by calling Murray "defenseless." There was no such thing last year with offensive players after an interception and that rule has been changed going into 2013. Here's the quote from Al.com. Defenseless player? He's in pursuit of the ball carrier. He's on defense now. Contact above the shoulders? No. Led with the shoulder? Yes. Unnecessary roughness? As I've stated many times earlier, yes. And that should get a flag. We undoubtedly will never see eye to eye on this. I can say with no uncertainty, if it were two other teams playing my viewpoint would remain the same.
