Not racist? If not racist then certainly biased. I can’t count the number of times i’ve seen Tebow taunt w/ the gator chomp. Even during the LSU game we saw T Bob Hebert NEXT TO A REF taunt the UGA student section & flip off the students & fans. It wasn’t called, yet AJ Green AND Orson Charles were tagged w/ bogus calls.

And to suggest this didn’t affect the outcome of the game by giving the opposition considerably better field position is ludicrous Spencer! No surprise you’d show your ignorant bias on this issue though.

Tim Brando doesn’t want to have the conversation about racism, but he does want to allude to it in a kind of passive-agressive rant during his post-game show. Or, he doesn’t want to go there, but he kind of wants to go there. Point being, I hate Tim Brando.

You got me at grandpa. I hate laughing at work, it maybe is illegal to do here, but you got me at Grandpa. Well done.

@1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN99jshaQbY

Call as many unsportsmans as you want, but I think the biggest issue concerning officiating has to be the non-calls in regards to leading with the head. Complete and utter bullshit in my opinion.

I saw T-Bob Hebert put on a hood in front of the ref…I SEEN IT!

I think those calls did impact the outcome of the game. It’s a completely stupid rule, like more and more of the rules these days. We’ve got to tackle though.

How about the rule that requires four guys -at least – on each side of the kicker in order to protect the receiver of an on-side kick? Georgia was penalized for this – after the call on AJ Green – even though they didn’t do an onside kick. What?

Question for those who are fans of instant replay: WHY CAN’T YOU REVIEW THE TAUNTING/UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT CALL?

I’m an LSU alum and I felt terrrible for Georgia. It was a bush league call and changed the emotion of the game completely in our favor. I won’t go so far as to say we wouldn’t have won without the call, but spotting us fifteen yards when we only needed a field goal with the fastest guy in college football sprinting against the coverage….well, had I been on the other side of that call….man.

Directly related observation: I have seen more atrocious kickoff coverage this year from supposedly good/great teams than ever before. Does anyone practice this stuff any more?

Quick question – does the SEC have more strict definition of celebration rules than the NCAA?

Jake Locker wants to know.

7 – Not to say I agree with the taunting/unsportsmanlike calls, but to review you might need to also need to hear any words said or exchanged.

In all fairness, the refs did make up the call on LSU’s “sale-ebration.” But, as was mentioned, I think the most egregious aspect of the officiating was the numerous no-calls through out the game. They sure let them play until the last 4 minutes of the game or so.

The Celebration penalty is complete & utter bullshit.

Not only was Georgia penalized for it, but JUST TWO PLAYS LATER, LSU was called for the exact same penalty simply because Charles Scott pointed to the sky (just as Joe Cox and three other UGA players did in the video above at the 11 second mark).

We were also forced to KO from the friggin’ 15 yardline, but thankfully, we know how to cover kickoffs and intercept balls.

@11

It doesn’t mean they were equal. All LSU needed was a FG to win so the impact of UGA’s celebration was far greater than the make-up call on LSU.

Also, did anyone notice that during that last drive one of LSU’s DL was in UGA’s backfield after the play (I believe the one Cox fumbled and had to just fall on it) and then did the ole “run and kick” thing. If that isn’t drawing attention to yourself, I’m not sure what is.

Hence the problem. No consistency AT ALL!!!

We’ve been closely monitoring the situations at FSU, UNC, Miami, and Illinois and we believe,…

Jimbo is a good coach and will do well to keep Rick Trickett.
Mack Brown was able to succeed at UNC.
Randy Shannon is a year behind the expected progress at Miami.
We aren’t really watching Illinois that closely.

Sincerely,
Tommy & Jimmy

LSU Freek is spot on as usual. Typical SEC finish to a ballgame.

http://vimeo.com/6895028
Hit of the week that no one saw because the Mountain West rejected ESPN’s gracious offer to play every night of the week except Saturdays…

I was watching final scoreboard and, you know, they showed all the touchdowns from the day and all but a few of them were more celebratory than AJ’s.

And the worst part is that wasn’t like it had to be called. It wasn’t an interception or a fumble where the refs HAD to make a decision.

#13

That’s the decleating block by the player without a helmut, correct? That hit was all over college football final (or whatever the highlight show with Holtz and May is); Rece Davis nearly soiled himself watching it.

I think the actual unsportsmanlike conduct occurred when heaven opened and the spirit descended like a dove on AJ, and a voice eerily similar to Morgan Freeman said, “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The refs found this to be heresy. Everyone knows that Tebow is Morgan Freeman’s one and only son. Fucking Pharisees.

Speaking as a Georgia fan, the celebration penalty, while not deserved, is not what cost us the game. Poor special teams, conservative play calling while nursing a one point lead on an offense that had shown the ability to move the ball, a failed two-point conversion, a 41 yard return + penalty and a 30+ yard run by Scott (a microcosm of UGA’s defense this season on that play) is what cost us the game.

The celebration only added insult to injury, and like Freek pointed out, a “make up” call was made on Scott after his touchdown anyway.

The SEC zebras have NOTHING on the Big-10 zebras. (OK, maybe a little)

Anyone see the unnecessary roughness call on Michigan St. saturday? The running back was still on his feet, knees had not even come close to touching the ground, and a Michigan St. player is flagged for 15 yards for actually making a tackle. Un-fucking-believable.

I know, I know…..this post is USELESS without video. I’m looking for it.

Funny thing is, the rules are made by coaches. It’s bizarre how they never seem to think that there’s a problem, despite how everyone else keeps hopping up and down and shouting blue murder. You’d think that head coaches wouldn’t want this snowstorm of 15-yard penalties either, and yet they obviously don’t care that much or something would have changed already…

….found it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuDsensOYwY

Quick question – does the SEC have more strict definition of celebration rules than the NCAA?

Jake Locker wants to know.

Locker should be especially curious since he was hosed against BYU last year after being excited for scoring a go-ahead TD with under ten seconds remaining. West Coast Tebow appears to be taking it from both ends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap6Kn0dkbyY

The fact is Notre Dame has less strict celebration rules than the NCAA because it’s Notre Dame in South Bend OMG ALL-TIME WINNINGEST PROGRAM EVAR.

Not a nascar fan, but that celebration penalty is the equivilant of a yellow flag in the last 10 laps. Just let them finish the game, so we the fans get to leave the stadium with the feeling of, we won or we lost and not the emptiness of WTF was that?

Just watched the video of that MSU late hit call…best part is #53 walking by the ref as he’s announcing the call and giving him the “aw hell no” hand gesture.

WTF? Locker’s celebration penalty was enforced 15 yards on the extra point try, and Georgia’s was 15 yards on the kick-off? What The Fuck, NCAA??

24

Exactly my point with Locker. There’s got to be some happy medium that can be reached. These are 18-23 year olds, with the exception of BringEm Young U and their missionary position youth returning as 29 year old juniors.

I can remember the early stages of TD celebrations (Elmo Wright, Billy White Shoes Johnson, et al) but always remember what GOD, er, Bear sed – “Act like you’ve been there before, son.”

#27, Correct me if I’m wrong, but In the BYU – Washington game, the game was over, so there wasn’t going to be an ensuing kickoff.

#28

…there was 3 seconds left on the clock in the video above, and since the clock isn’t run during extra point attempts, I’m pretty sure there was a kick-off

@ #24

Yeah, yeah, lay on the hate, but ND has been the victim of that pentalty before. In the ’99 Mich game, we scored a td at the end to go ahead, but got flagged 15 yards for an extrmely questionable, UM got the ball back with a short field, and yup, we lost.

ND gets hosed by officials about as often as every body else. Case-in-point: Golden Tate was interfered with pretty noticably on at least 3 occasions in this year’s UM game, but no flags were seen. Oh well. Sometimes you’re the dog, and sometimes you’re the fire hydrant.

On AJ’s celebration, I think they heard me yell FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER all the way from the Mississippi River and thought it was AJ. Great coverage and an even greater catch.

@25, you are spot on, my friend. NOW, WE WILL NEVER KNOW FOR SURE, YOU GDMFSOB REFS! To use another sports analogy that kind of works, t’s like the damn cubs and Steve Bartmann. It’s fucked up for all eternity [or at least until i drink myself into bolivia for the UF game this weekend]

was that a princess bride reference? [Maybe] Am I a little ghey for picking up on it? [definitely].

….correction, 2 seconds left. However the question MUST be asked, why the difference in enforcement? The the rule change from last year to this year? Does the PAC-10 or the SEC have a different rule? (No, there’s only one NCAA Football Rule Book). Which is actually the correct way to enforce this COMPLETELY BULLSHIT RULE?

@#28

Just watched the video. :02 seconds left. Clock doesn’t run on a PAT.

I’m like MPG…WTF?

@1:

Other than the 15-yd penalty he got in the MNC game against OK, I’ve never seen Tebow “taunt with the gator chomp,” and I’m pretty sure I’ve been watching him more closely than you the last 4 years.

On the contrary, any Gator fan knows that opponents’ frequent (although often premature) mocking of the chomp is almost never penalized, while a UF player doing it always draws a flag.

Putting decisions in the hands of refs just leads to fucking up the game we love. Coaches never think out the unintended consequences of rule changes (think clock rules), before they OK them. Refs have enough problem determining pass interference, which they get wrong at an alarming rate, albeit not as bad as the celebration rule. If they took away this arbitrarily applied shit, we would all be better off.

Santonio Holmes might hold the career record for ECP. He was good for one every time he scored. And that was when tOSU used to put points up rather frequently.

Is anyone liveblogging Urban Meyer’s spin at the press conference? I feel like I’m missing out.

#34

…my thoughts EXACTLY. I’ve watched every down of every UF game the past 4 years, and that’s the only time I rememeber him doing the Gator Chomp. (…and it was very well desesrved then).

He did get away with doing something to the LSU crowd after a TD, didn’t he? I think making a phone call reference, which another player was flagged for the following year?

…again, deserved IMO after someone leaked his cell phone number to the entire LSU student body.

unsportsmanlike penalties after a TD can either be applied to the PAT or the ensuing kickoff. Obviously LSU (and UGA) would take it on the kickoff to improve their field position for a drive. As there wasn’t enough time in the BYU/Washington game to do anything else besides backyard football shenanigans on the kickoff (it would have been tied anyway, so no need to do something stupid), they moved the PAT back 15 yards to make it more difficult.

Great to see the LSU fans understanding the dawg fans’ plight. Y’all are some of the most knowledgeable fans in college football, and I respect that. LSUfreek is correct, the same penalty was a non-issue for them because they know how to cover kicks. And while you can’t claim that the call was completely responsible for Georgia’s loss, there is no doubt it didn’t help.
One hundred cocktails to haveagreatday. Great perspective.
 If there is any karma in this world, the bayou Bengals will curb-stomp the gators in front of what will be the most raucous (read: hammered beyond all reasonable belief) crowd of the last few years. If I could make the 13 hour drive, I would come to Baton Rouge and destroy my liver for the glorious Cause. God speed, tigers, God speed.

#19, good one. Thanks for bringing some real perspective into all this. As we all know, as evidenced in the furor over these posts re: A.J. Green’s UC penalty, College Football is a religion and should be adjudicated thusly.

The call, based on what I saw was indeed shittiest of bullshit that I have seen in a while. But SEC refs have innovated over the years in taking the fucking fun out of the game. I’m an LSU fan and I remember a complete b.s. call against LSU at Auburn several years ago on a AU missed extra point that would have given LSU the game, but instead the Tigers got popped for some archaic and unbeknownst rule about falling forward on a kick attempt. Re-kick, game, set, match to Auburn.

My only guess is that Green said something. If you can find a clip of it at the right angle, ref throws a flag after he ran back in the end zone and starts jawing with his teammates. Right as Green gets up near him he goes for the flag. That could be it, because the actual celebrating was fairly routine.

Pac-10 refs are the worst in my opinion, The Sooners/Ducks games a few years ago was the most horrific atrocity of officiating I have ever seen. Perfect example of refs truly giving the game away. This case, not so much.

Others have alluded to this, but I’ll try to put a finer point on it:

Picture an alternate reality, where the ref keeps his flag in his pocket after AJ’s touchdown. Georgia kicks it deep (don’t snicker — I said this was an alternate reality). The country’s 105th-ranked offense has a minute to get from anywhere between their 20 and 35 to within field goal range — obvious passing situation against a D that already had five sacks on the day. What are the odds we’re even talking about that possession today?

got no dog in that fight, but I got to say that penalty for celebration was total bullshit (make that both penalties)

it’s like the hand of god tossed that hanky, and then caused the kicking team to go fubar on the kickoff… UGA is better than that, and deserved the game, but someone/something decided to take it away from them

that said, LSU is gonna get theirs soon, and in a most embarrassing fashion… jerking two games out of the fire like that will induce mucho bad karma

@ #38 – correct! That player the next season was none other than Bama’s JPW. Tebow made the phone call reference and pointed to the LSU section, no penalty. JPW did pretty much the exact same thing and was flagged. Bama Bangs gets trumped by the Right Hand of God every time.

I just think that calling the penalty at that time of the game is criminal. They totally took the wind out of Uga’s sails. The only thing I can figure is that maybe the players celebrated a little too long? Maybe the ref was like, “Ok guys, off the field” and the players were like “whatever mofo we just scored and are about to get laid!”. Hence the flag?

Regardless, let ’em play!

@ 42 and others:

That sums it up perfectly. The entire nature of the game changed when that 15 yard penalty was called.

I’m not going to excuse this by way of the penalty, but field position makes a HUGE difference in how you approach kickoff coverage and lanes. Receiving a kick from the 15 yd line vs. the goal line (or, more realistically, the 5) especially given the speed that LSU has on special teams makes a huge difference. Now, the failed tackle ultimately doomed us, but by then you were all ready 2 yards from field goal range. Probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Hats off to the Tigers in rallying for the win. I just wish we could have seen this game played without the zebras becoming the center of attention.

Obligatory Conspiracy Theory Post: Consider that the $EC had already seen a wildly overrated team at #4 (Old Mrs.) lose to a mediocre Sakerlina squad, and then consider the prospects of the same thing happening to the current #4 9(LSU) against an equally mediocre Georgia squad. Can’t let it — won’t let it — happen. Too much shared bowl money at stake, not to mention that a Dawg victree would have scuttled the allure of this week’s GAME OF THE CENTURY!!! (And no, the “make up” call doesn’t reduce the stink of the obvious bullshit because the entire stadium knew that LSWho? only needed a field goal to win).

Discuss (or cuss) amongst yourselves…

1. 42 R U kidding?

Your argument is that LSU would have played LESS conservatively if they’d been 15 yards further back and therefore Charles Scott wouldn’t have taken a run off tackle 30 yards into the endzone? Did it occur to you at any point during this stellar bit of reasoning that UGA’s defense LET A GUY GO 30 YARDS OFF TACKLE INTO THE ENDZONE? Gimme a break. It was a terrible, inexcusable call, but it sure as hell isn’t why UGA lost.

The penalties were bullshit and certainly impacted the game. So too was the no-call intentional grounding on Cox in the endzone. Refs suck.

The moral of the story is the established EDSBS rule: Lesticles wins close games.

I just wish we could have seen this game played without the zebras becoming the center of attention.

@45: Come on, be serious. No one wanted to watch those teams stumble through that game. Maybe the last few minutes but that’s different.

LSU is good a winning.

John Parker Wilson at LSU agrees totally with Tim Brando.

That said, I have noooo doubt that there are some ass-backward bubbas working some of the games that let the “boys” get away with a lil’ jawin’ that the melanin-enhanced may not (and yes, Tebow gets away with bloody murder on the taunting calls, cuz a clean cut, white Christian boy just can’t possibly show poor sportsmanship)

@47, et. al.:
Clearly, the celebration flag didn’t decide the game. But, LSU could easily have gone into halftime up 21, instead of up 6, which set UGA up with an opportunity to steal that game. Note, too, there were only two flags dropped in the entire first half, one of which UGA declined. UGA’s D on one play did not lose that game. What lost that game was equal parts Mike Bobo’s on-again, off-again love affair with the toss-sweep to the short side and Joe Cox’s throwing like a high-ping bastard, again. We just can’t expect the UGA D to cover the entire field with divots in the shape of Jefferson’s butt, as they seemed eager to do on that first series of the third quarter. I know, I know, that’s how the running game works in the 4th quarter, and it did work: Curran looked a little gassed (after recording 16 tackles) and missed the 17th, so props to both Scott and the LSU line.

Actually, I think the reffing issue most in need of redress this year as been missed facemask penalties. Between the body-horizontal snap on a kick-return in USC/NCState to the “c’mere-boy” out of the pile on Caleb King against ASU here last weekend, they’ve missed some doozies. Both of those would have been 15-yarders under even the old scheme.

Of course there are “ass-backwards bubbas” working the games. They are Southerners, and thus guilty of racism until otherwise proven innocent., unlike the paradigms of virtue who live throughout the northeast and midwest.

That must be why blacks continue to leave the South in droves. Wait… never mind. STFU.

No, missed calls didn’t make UGA lose this game or any other, but a ref that can spot excessive celebration should also be held accountable for seeing the clipping of Boykin that helped spring Scott for the epic run. Regardless, this is all still a part of the epic payback from SEC officials due to the endzone dance. Asa UGA fan at that game, it is still all worth it.

UGA is still capable of getting themselves to Atlanta; that is all that matters to me.

If Penn Wagers is part of the officiating crew you can expect calls like this. I don’t think he likes football, or maybe he has multiple personalities.

@53…asshat, I was born in the mountains of NC, raised in the state of alabama, and have lived in TN and MS, among others. If you think for one second that I was singling out one region my own no less then you are sadly, sadly fucking mistaken.

But, since we were talking about GASP! the SEC, that is the conference to which I was making reference. It’s called context. Definition here —>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context