7-Step Drop: It's Time to Nationalize College Football Officiating

As usual in college football, what looks like a light week on the docket typically has something wild or crazy happen. Week 9 was no exception.

As if on cue, after a rather lackluster middle-of-the-afternoon slate, the final minutes of the Miami-Duke contest managed to turn a surprising ACC Coastal upset into a wild finish that everybody is still talking about 48 hours later.

I'll admit to watching the game off and on for the first three quarters, tuning in to see just what interim coach Larry Scott was doing with the Hurricanes and if the Blue Devils could make next week's showdown with North Carolina really, truly mean something on the football field. Then the clock started to wind down and it looked like Miami was going to pull off the win when Michael Badgley drilled a 37-yard field goal with 5:54 remaining, giving the Hurricanes a 24-12 lead.

Duke wasn't done yet, of course. The Blue Devils marched 75 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 24-19 and then forced a three-and-out for the Hurricanes. They followed that up with an 80-yard drive that was aided by a few pass interference flags (two on eventual hero Corn Elder, no less) and a still-questionable Thomas Sirk touchdown run with just six seconds remaining. That all set the stage for the play that had the nation buzzing.

First off, Miami's zany return to help win the game was an all-timer that put the Music City Miracle to shame. It was wild, crazy, and unbelievable. It also never should have happened.

In a statement released Sunday, the ACC did not overturn the result of the game, but it did cite a number of errors officials made on the final play. The league promptly suspended the entire crew (including replay officials) for two games.

"The quality of our officiating program is of the highest importance to the league and its schools, and the last play of the game was not handled appropriately," ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in the release. "Officiating is an extraordinarily difficult job but our players, coaches, programs and fans deserve the best that can be offered. We will continue to strive to meet that standard."

The conference determined that a Miami player's knee was down prior to releasing a lateral and that officials should have called an illegal block in the back. Add in an uncalled player who left the bench early without his helmet and needless to say it was an unbelievable ending that the crew simply botched, even with the availability of instant replay to review nearly every aspect of the play.

"The NCAA should have a process to reverse the outcome of the game," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said in his Sunday news conference, according to Dan Wolken of USA Today. "Nothing has changed other than they realized they got the replay wrong."

Cutcliffe is onto something, and it's not just because he was on the losing end of an improbable conclusion that shouldn't have counted. While overturning results may be a Pandora's box, what the well-respected Cutcliffe is alluding to with the NCAA having a role in officiating is something worth exploring further.

In the wake of all that happened in Week 9, there have been a number of folks calling to nationalize the college football replay system in a manner similar to the NFL. Rogers Redding, the NCAA's national coordinator of officiating, told Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel that he and the various conference coordinators had already been discussing such a model.

"In the big picture, the replay process is in good shape," Redding told Mandel. "The conferences work to refine it, but then a high-profile situation like last night happens, and it looks like oh my gosh, this is all falling apart, and the reality is it's not."

Redding cited the logistics of a national replay center as one of the biggest obstacles, noting the sheer scale college football operates on compared to the relatively modest 32-team NFL. Such obstacles are notable and will take a significant investment to overcome, but it's nothing insurmountable. Heck, ESPN and Fox (among others) have a stake in moving games along and may even be able to contribute and provide meaningful input.

But if anything, the discussion about standardizing replay and making it a national endeavor is actually a little small-minded. As this weekend proved (again), more needs to be done in order to enhance college football officiating. The commissioners of the FBS conferences shouldn't start or stop at creating a national replay center; they need to actually hand over the reins fully to a national governing body and end league affiliations.

That could mean the NCAA itself—a smart public relations move by conferences if so, passing the blame to those in Indianapolis—or the College Football Officiating organization that is nominally in charge of national standards. Either way, it's time to end the Twitter hashtags of #SECrefs or continued jokes about Pac-12 officiating. It's time to put everybody under the same roof.

There have been baby steps on this front in recent years that could lay the groundwork for such a large-scale reorganization of football officiating. The Collegiate Officiating Consortium already oversees officiating for the Big Ten, MAC and Missouri Valley, in addition to a number of other smaller leagues in men's and women's basketball. Just this year, the Pac-12 and Mountain West added the Big West, WCC, and WAC to their men's basketball regional officiating alliance.

Rob Brown/Associated Press

Such regional offices could be turned into the backbone of a reformed national organization. Instead of dealing with Walt Anderson after a disastrous Big 12 call or David Coleman on a Pac-12 screwup, the national office can discuss any mistakes and rectify them quickly while speaking as one voice. Even better, good officials can get promoted to bigger games more easily during the season than before, and others will be relegated more quickly.

After all, why shouldn't a star Sun Belt line judge be rewarded sooner rather than later for doing his job well during the season? At the same time, those on crews such as the one at Duke-Miami could find a long road back to an ACC-level matchup if they botch things like they did during the final few minutes in Durham.

Even better, a national organization could help officials (almost all part-timers) receive a much-needed pay raise. You'd be surprised at how much criticism some referees open themselves up to on national television given what their game check usually is.

It all makes too much sense, especially as television has made it easy to point out the flaws in every call so quickly. That's probably why it won't happen, but hopefully somebody with a stake in college football is smart enough to wise up and realize that our current trajectory isn't working.

Such moves might not mean much to the Blue Devils in 2015 if they miss out on a trip to the ACC title game but maybe, just maybe, the game's crazy ending will have a lasting legacy beyond lamenting bad calls.

Stats of the Week

—Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds tied Wisconsin running back Montee Ball's NCAA career record for rushing touchdowns against USF. Later this year in the same league, he'll have a chance to take on fellow quarterback Greg Ward Jr. at Houston, who leads all of FBS in rushing touchdowns this season.

—Per ESPN Stats & Info, Cincinnati's Gunner Kiel went 15-of-15 (for 319 yards and five touchdowns) against UCF, the most completions without an incomplete pass by any FBS player in the last 20 years.

—Since losing to Texas, Oklahoma has outscored its past three opponents 180-34 and has racked up 15 sacks over that span. Against Kansas, the Sooners went an entire game without punting for the first time ever under Bob Stoops, according to the school.

—TCU has a 22-game winning streak when ranked in the AP Top Five. Gary Patterson has lost just three times when ranked in the Top 10 during his head coaching career in Fort Worth.

—Nebraska notes the team has used 20 different starters on offense this season and 20 different starters on defense.

—With Virginia Tech announcing that Frank Beamer is retiring, it's remarkable to see that he won his 277th game (most among active FBS head coaches) against Boston College. According to the game notes, Beamer also beat his 116th different opposing head coach while doing so.

—Wisconsin passes along a note that receiver/safety Tanner McEvoy is the first FBS player with at least one sack, two receptions, two carries and two interceptions in a season since Charles Gordon of Kansas accomplished it in 2005.

—It flew under the radar, but Colorado's Nelson Spruce became the Pac-12's all-time leading receiver.

—Hat tip to the Associated Press' Josh Dubow for pointing out that Cal led USC for the first time since 2007. The Bears eventually lost, but they at least got that stat out of the way.

— Teams with 700-plus yards and 55-plus points in the past 15 seasons were 95-4 before Arizona State lost to Oregon on Thursday.

Quote of the Week

"You'll win, you're a more complete team."

—West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen to TCU's Gary Patterson after the latter asked what the Horned Frogs' chances were against Baylor, in a video captured by Fox Sports. The video has since been deleted, but those words may prove to be true later this month.

Tweet of the Week

College Football Playoff Selection Committee chairman Jeff Long with a walk-off right here:

Play of the Week

Sound from Saturday

Pre-Snap Reads

Florida State at Clemson

Running back Dalvin Cook should be well-rested and quarterback Everett Golson should be back in action for the Seminoles. That their returns might not matter should tell you just how good Clemson is this season, and the fact that the Tigers have been battle-tested helps their cause, too. Don't expect a runaway for either side, but it's hard to go against Dabo Swinney's squad at home right now.

TCU at Oklahoma State

Both teams are undefeated, but it's the Cowboys who are easily the biggest surprise of the pair this season. Emmanuel Ogbah is well on his way to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors, and fellow end Jimmy Bean is one of the better players nobody talks about. They'll need to have a big game in order to slow down Trevone Boykin and Co., though. TCU squeaks by in this one.

LSU at Alabama

It's hard to bet against Alabama at home, and it's accurate to say that the team is built to stop somebody like Leonard Fournette. That puts the pressure on Brandon Harris to make some things happen downfield, and there's still a little hesitation about him doing that in a tough road environment. Turnovers will help decide this one and it wouldn't be a game involving Les Miles without a special teams play impacting the contest, too. I'll lean the Tide, but not by much.

Bryan Fischer is a national college football columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer. Stats and information acquired firsthand unless otherwise noted.