Swampland:SEC Daily Fever: Officials Under Heavy Scrutiny

SEC Daily Fever: Officials Under Heavy Scrutiny

Posted: Oct 27, 2009

Here we go again-another week, another rash of bad and missed calls that have SEC coaches angry. A week after Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino was reprimanded by the league office, two more conference bosses (UT’s Lane Kiffin and MSU’s Dan Mullen) heard from Mike Slive this week. Kiffin’s team entered the Alabama game as one of the least penalized squads in the nation, and he was especially frustrated by the eight penalties (and several no calls on the Tide) whistled on the Vols to Bama’s one.

When asked about a response from the league office, Kiffin responded:

“I'm sure we'll get one of those letters that mean nothing, that Bobby (Petrino) got last week, but Florida and Alabama live on.''

Mullen was very angry after a missed review call in Mississippi State’s loss to Florida:

"I don't even know why we have replay right now in the Southeastern Conference if they're not going to utilize it."

Vandy’s Bobby Johnson was also very frustrated by the official’s inability to get a reviewed call correct in their game at South Carolina:

“I don't know what kind of evidence you need to overrule, but to me that was fairly clear. I had more texts on my cell phone after the game than I've ever had. I'd like to find out why (the call was made). I haven't been in contact with Rogers Redding (SEC Coordinator of Officials) yet today (Monday), but I'm going to give him a call and I'd like to find out what the discussion was up in the booth about that."

The reality for Mike Slive and his officials is that they have the most watched and passionate conference in college football, and the perception that the league favors Florida and Alabama will not go away until the botched calls end. The best way to end conspiracy theories is to hold referees accountable instead of worrying about reprimanding coaches who just want the games called fairly.

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