Can we talk about the officiating problem?

[ScotsAU 1,316]

I’m not going to put this squarely on officiating. We looked downright terrible at times in this bowl game. But there were at least 6 bad calls in the second half of that game.

-Both the targeting calls were BS

- There were at least 2 key holding calls missed on their scoring drive, including the most blatant one on the TD play itself.

- There was one clear missed PI on Houston that halted one of our drives

-The worst was the clear as day intentional grounding that probably would’ve halted their final scoring drive. 

Is it me, or is officiating just getting progressively worse and worse over the past few years? It is honestly making watching the games not fun because I find myself increasingly fuming over the morons in the striped shirts.

Update: Just clarifying. I’m not saying the refs were pro or anti-anything. Just calling attention to the fact that officiating has become garbage in college ball.

Edited December 29, 2021 by ScotsAU

[O&B 134]

Been bad all year for everyone.  Look at last drive in Iron Bowl.  Not sure if they are that bad or have an agenda.  

[gr82b4au 5,568]

I just think officiating all the way around in most games has gone down. 

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

The officiating was intermittently dreadful this game (especially non called holding impacting plays) and if you agree, do like I did and do something about it - go start reffing high school games and work your way up to college. If you work hard and become a student of the game and can function under extreme pressure, it can be done. If you love the game it's also a great way to stay close to it. Better than beefing on the internet anyway. 

[weagl1 1,782]

It became very obvious as the game wore on those guys didn’t have a clue what they were doing.  Sometimes holding gets missed but the grounding was as obvious as could be.  The QB was clearly under pressure, clearly inside the tackle box and there was no receiver anywhere close.  He just threw it out of bounds to avoid the sack.  PeeWee officials could have called it.  

[Win4AU 4,052]

You would think now that Bo is gone the officials would take it easy on Auburn

[Mitchie 80]

The second targeting call on Monday was not BS. It was correct.

No offense, but you should all know that Auburn should have had a loss to Georgia State. That was an officiating mistake.

Every single program has gotten the benefit, and the back-end, of officiating calls. It is a problem. Auburn was on both ends today -- the Houston no-call on the intentional grounding could have and should have been called. But to say it is anti-Auburn every week is absurd. Be honest with yourselves and don't drive down that street. You're better than this.

[JDUBB4AU 5,110]

Garbage refs . Let’s the teams play , but call it fair . They sucked ass 

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

There’s really no such thing as a holding call anymore.  Refs won’t call it unless the holder happens to be stepping in the refs toes. I saw one of their guys literally take a dive at our defensive lineman’s legs and chopped them right out from under him.  It’s pathetic.  

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

With how much money is tied up in this sport now it's time to either establish some kind of school for these refs so they can get better or have professional refs like the NFL does. It hasn't just been Auburn games. There's been dozens of games this year where the outcome was affected by terrible calls at crucial points. 

[shabby 1,956]

45 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

I’m not going to put this squarely on officiating. We looked downright terrible at times in this bowl game. But there were at least 6 bad calls in the second half of that game.

-Both the targeting calls were BS

- There were at least 2 key holding calls missed on their scoring drive, including the most blatant one on the TD play itself.

- There was one clear missed PI on Houston that halted one of our drives

-The worst was the clear as day intentional grounding that probably would’ve halted their final scoring drive. 

Is it me, or is officiating just getting progressively worse and worse over the past few years? It is honestly making watching the games not fun because I find myself increasingly fuming over the morons in the striped shirts.

 

Just No,

The targeting calls are reviewed and they obviously met the criteria. Auburn got away with a big time hold on the long Tank pass / run down field.

I'll give you the intentional grounding. The truth is the better team won today and Auburn fans need to move past the whole "but the refs" garbage.

[AUpreacherman22 3,883]

Yes.  It is worse across the board.  No one in their right mind would want to be a ref.  Everyone hates them.   Even the good refs (not that there is such a thing anymore).  
 

And also yes.  Today’s refs were among the worst to ever put on the stripes.  That entire last TD drive was all refs, zero Houston on literally every single play.  Unreal!

[jj3jordan 2,043]

Regarding the IB final drive, the goombah ref back by the goalposts had already made up his mind pre snap that he was NOT going to be the dude that handed the game to Auburn and destroyed bammers shot at the title. That is obvious.

[nurbis 572]

16 minutes ago, Mitchie said:

The second targeting call on Monday was not BS. It was correct.

No offense, but you should all know that Auburn should have had a loss to Georgia State. That was an officiating mistake.

Every single program has gotten the benefit, and the back-end, of officiating calls. It is a problem. Auburn was on both ends today -- the Houston no-call on the intentional grounding could have and should have been called. But to say it is anti-Auburn every week is absurd. Be honest with yourselves and don't drive down that street. You're better than this.

I guess I missed it, but where did anybody say it was specifically anti-Auburn? OP just pointed out the missed calls that had a major impact against us. And I agree, the targeting on smoke was a good call but the rest pointed out by the OP were garbage calls/missed calls and officiating has been garbage for a while. We have a billion dollar industry with officiating by weekend warriors doing the job as a side gig. Officiating needs to be a full time job in college like it is in the NFL. 

And the whole, "you're better than this" statement makes you sound like an ass. 

[Mitchie 80]

1 minute ago, nurbis said:

I guess I missed it, but where did anybody say it was specifically anti-Auburn? OP just pointed out the missed calls that had a major impact against us. And I agree, the targeting on smoke was a good call but the rest pointed out by the OP were garbage calls/missed calls and officiating has been garbage for a while. We have a billion dollar industry with officiating by weekend warriors doing the job as a side gig. Officiating needs to be a full time job in college like it is in the NFL. 

And the whole, "you're better than this" statement makes you sound like an ass. 

Is Auburn not better than this? You're not better than complaining about the referees after every loss?

Do you watch football? Or do you only watch Auburn football?

The complaining on this site -- and every fan site -- about officiating is ridiculous. Yes, most officials make bad calls, but to hear every fan base complain, their team is the only team that regularly gets bitten by officiating. It's bad across the board, is what I'm saying. Come on, man.

[EagleEye67 1,938]

1 hour ago, O&B said:

Been bad all year for everyone.  Look at last drive in Iron Bowl.  Not sure if they are that bad or have an agenda.  

"You may submit all complaints to the SEC officiating office, C/O Nick Saban, Tuscaloosa, AL"

[jared52 4,354]

P5 needs full time refs like NFL. Year-round training in order to be able to handle the speed and level of the game. Demote or remove refs who consistently underperform or fail in crucial situation. 

[IronMan70 3,277]

One of the worst no calls I saw was in the early part of their last drive. Our DE was half way through putting a spin move on their OT. His back was still facing the OT and the OT locked him in a bear hug from behind and held on. The ref just stared at it. It was SO blatant and bad I finally laughed at it, as I yelled at the refs, lol.

Edited December 29, 2021 by IronMan70

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

53 minutes ago, Mitchie said:

 

No offense, but you should all know that Auburn should have had a loss to Georgia State. That was an officiating mistake.

 

That is true. While the referring has been rough for a lot of games this year, we definitely got a huge call w the Georgia state final drive. 

[AUloggerhead 2,227]

1 hour ago, aucanucktiger said:

The officiating was intermittently dreadful this game (especially non called holding impacting plays) and if you agree, do like I did and do something about it - go start reffing high school games and work your way up to college. If you work hard and become a student of the game and can function under extreme pressure, it can be done. If you love the game it's also a great way to stay close to it. Better than beefing on the internet anyway. 

But, but ... that takes effort!  It's so much easier to vent from behind a computer screen!

[nurbis 572]

20 minutes ago, Mitchie said:

It's bad across the board, is what I'm saying. Come on, man.

Yeah, that is what the OP was saying. That is what we are all saying. Officiating across the board needs to be better. 

The only post I saw asserting otherwise was yours. You implied the OP was saying the refs were anti-Auburn and making calls specifically against us. The OP never said that and I did not see other comments saying that. 

 

[Tigger1985 806]

Had a big hold in the end zone also when they were backed up 

[Rolltideho 2]

2 hours ago, ScotsAU said:

I’m not going to put this squarely on officiating. We looked downright terrible at times in this bowl game. But there were at least 6 bad calls in the second half of that game.

-Both the targeting calls were BS

- There were at least 2 key holding calls missed on their scoring drive, including the most blatant one on the TD play itself.

- There was one clear missed PI on Houston that halted one of our drives

-The worst was the clear as day intentional grounding that probably would’ve halted their final scoring drive. 

Is it me, or is officiating just getting progressively worse and worse over the past few years? It is honestly making watching the games not fun because I find myself increasingly fuming over the morons in the striped shirts.

 

I would like to know how both targeting calls were bull****. First off, Smoke launched into the “incidental contact” and should have been tossed there. The one he was tossed for was again him launching and leading with the crown. The second was forcible contact high on a sliding player. We all know y’all wouldn’t think those were bad if they were against Houston. So shut up and quit complaining. 

[Mitchie 80]

2 hours ago, EagleEye67 said:

"You may submit all complaints to the SEC officiating office, C/O Nick Saban, Tuscaloosa, AL"

nurbis: This. This right here. I agree with your posts above but this one is the type I'm talking about. I'm sure the guy meant it as a joke, but a lot of people that post on here aren't joking. SURELY you read this kind of thing on this board. Need I reference the Red Elephant Club?

Every time Auburn loses, it's this. Is this a joke or do you REALLY believe Nick Saban is somehow controlling SEC officiating? All officiating? There used to be a belief that the BRYANT FAMILY was pulling strings in southern college football, even after his death.

It's ridiculous.

Officiating is bad, but Auburn is no more or less a victim than anyone else. It just SUCKS. And I agree there should be full-time officials in college, just as you said.

But the constant officiating insinuations just adds to the JABA that you guys talk about all the time on here. Saban is not worried about you. He is coaching. Just like he would be if they were in the Citrus Bowl or the Sugar Bowl, or whatever. The only time Saban is concerned about Auburn is the week you play, and when he goes against you for a top recruit.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

Piss poor officiating today. Smoke body-checked his man on the interception return and I have no doubt that the refs weren't going to allow a second overturn on the same player. Wrong call, but good optics.

The Simpson ejection was unconscionable. Replay showed him clearly twisting his body to avoid the targeting, and more importantly I am getting fed up with targeting getting called every time a QB gets hit while going down. It is almost as pathetic as in the NFL calling a roughing-the-passer whenever the QB is bumped.

How you miss intentional grounding is beyond me and should 100% warrant demotion... Possibility even a fine if I had my way.

Poor execution did us no favors, but we were in position plenty of times to put this game away without the striped-shirt knuckle-draggers screwing us in this match-up.