Notre Dame-Stanford: The NCAA's Incompetent Officials

Palo Alto, CA

"After review, the call on the field is reversed."

Welcome to Stanford Stadium on a beautiful Saturday in Palo Alto, CA—where the Pac-10 officiating crew can't make a decision.

Hell, why have referees when the guys upstairs can make every judgment? We'll get rid of flags altogether and have the video monitors flash yellow to let us all know that a penalty has been called.

Fine by me—as long as it's quick, and as long as they get it right.

And the guys in the video booth should get it right, because they get to indulge in back-and-forth replays until their viewing pleasure is fully satisfied.

So someone tell me: What on earth happened with the reversal on Jimmy Clausen's third-quarter touchdown pass to David Grimes?

The play, which was ruled a touchdown on the field, was replayed at least five times on the dueling big screens at the Farm's new stadium. It was clear from the video that Grimes kept a hand underneath the football at all times—and pulled in one of the best catches of the year.  

This isn't tough stuff. The correct call was clear as day to the competent football fan.

What a shame that such a great play by could be overturned by a joke of an officiating crew.

And it wasn't only the incessant booth reviews of every close call in the first 40 minutes of the game. These referees also called and missed holding penalties at random on both sides of the ball all day long.

Notre Dame's star defensive lineman Trevor Laws—playing in his last game for the Irish—was consistently tackled by offensive lineman without consequence.

Until someone proves me wrong (by reviewable video evidence), I'll continue to insist that these types of officiating mistakes are inexcusable.

All I want for Christmas is better officials—on the field and in the booth.

Who are these guys, and what are their qualifications? What degree of nepotism is at work here?

I'm all for making the correct calls, but if you're going to waste the fans' time by reviewing every call under the sun (the going trend these days)—at least make sure that you get it right.

So forget writing to your local representative about issues that impact your pocket book. Instead, write to the NCAA and demand better officiating.

As paying customers, we shouldn't put up with this crap.