Big Ten Officials Have Lost Their Minds

I know officiating is the toughest job in sports. No matter what you call, someone is going to be mad at you.

Most of the time these guys do a decent job, but recently if you look around the sports world, officiating has gotten pretty ugly. For examples, look at the Major League Playoffs/World Series, NFL (Cowboys-Packers game last Sunday), and the SEC.

What I have noticed lately is a strong decline in officiating in the Big Ten. These guys are making bad decisions, and they are not using the video replay properly or within the rules.

The latest "high profile" mistake came in the Purdue-Michigan State game this weekend when Purdue's running back Ralph Bolden was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty because he hugged Purdue's mascot Purdue Pete after scoring a touchdown.

Are you kidding me? What was so unsportsmanlike about that? What a minute, doesn't Pete carry a big hammer? I see these guys working now—Bolden was trying to bring a weapon on the field.

Below is a mistake that the officials got right on the field, but the replay booth overturned the call. Please notice the IU WR's foot hitting the field turf and kicking up the chopped up rubber. The replay said he didn't get a foot down. Terrible, just terrible!

Since most reading this blog are Michigan fans, let's review a few calls that occurred in Michigan games.

- The Michigan-Illinois game. There are a number of calls on this video that are in question:

* Roy Roundtree's touchdown overturned in the booth.

* Brandon Minor's touchdown overturned in the booth. If you watch the video, there is a player in between Minor and camera when they ruled his elbow hit the ground. So in this example the replay booth used their judgment to overturn the call instead of evidence—which is a huge fail!

* It looks to me Carlos Brown had scored on third down—no review.

- My next big Michigan complaint came in the Wisconsin game. Wisconsin's running back John Clay dove over the top, and Brandon Graham met him in the air and drove him back into the Wisconsin backfield. The call on the field was touchdown; why, I don't know, because only the tip of his helmet was over the line.

They reviewed it and let the touchdown stand when the replay clearly showed the ball didn't make it over the goal line. In fact, it really wasn't close.

First off, I am not taking the position that Michigan wins either game if those calls were executed properly, but there is something wrong in the process here. Humans make mistakes, but the replay system is here for one reason only: to make the correct call.

Judgment and feelings are not allowed to come into play for replays. It's either yes or no, black or white. If it's gray, the call stands how it was called on the field.

I was in the stadium at Illinois when those calls were made or not made, and I can tell you with 100 percent certainty it changed the game on both sidelines.

So what's wrong with the system? Don't just complain—come up with a new solution.

Okay, first off I have been watching the same old officials for years in the Big Ten. It's time for some fresh new blood on the field and in the booth. I know the good jobs come with experience, but you can't tell me there aren't some young officials out there with good experience.

One problem maybe from the definition of instant replay from Wikipedia: When replay is used, a Replay Official (usually a former college, NFL, or XFL game official ) reviews every play at its conclusion from a secure booth in the press box. If you have worked for Vince McMahon, you should not be able to make any type of call at an NCAA event.

I'm also not sold on the booth review. They seem too detached from the action to make the proper call. Mostly these guys are near retirement or have been put out to pasture.

Maybe the NCAA should go more to an NFL-style system and add another official to the field. The game is delayed too long and too often by these replay stoppages. If you give the coaches a couple of challenges, the game would be stopped less, and they would only challenge the important calls.

BTW: This maybe the only time in history I agree with Charlie Weis. The Big Ten has some bad officials, and something needs to be done. Big Ten coaches can't talk about it or they will be fined. Replay needs to be in the game because there are too many mistakes on the field, but these replay officials have lost the purpose and intent of their role.

The Big Ten has been suspending players; it's time they suspend their officials as well.