Rosetta: SEC officials losing some credibility

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 9, 2009

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As far as I can tell, the Southeastern Conference can’t suspend me or levy any fines on me.

So I feel like I’m on safe footing here.

This isn’t a diatribe insisting SEC officials are embroiled in a conspiracy to clear the paths of Florida and Alabama to the league championship game and/or the BCS National Championship Game.

Nor is it a call for a major overhaul of the SEC officiating system. That’s for somebody much higher than my pay grade to argue for and against.

But it’s certainly getting old, all this talk about blown calls and game-changing decisions.

Not only is shaky officiating affecting the outcome of games, but is also seems to be causing referees to hesitate as they weigh the pros and cons of a call before they make it.

The Patrick Peterson catch/interception/incompletion was a perfect example.

One missed call didn’t cost LSU the game in a 24-15 loss to Alabama. There were still a lot of plays after Peterson’s pick that wasn’t and it was going to take a great finish for the Tigers offense to muster the kind of momentum it needed to rally.

Did the blown call affect the outcome? Sure.

The Crimson Tide maintained possession and was able to get close enough for Leigh Tiffin to connect on a third field goal that turned the game into a two-possession margin with 3:04 to go instead of the Tigers having the ball down only six points with 5:56 left.

It was going to be challenging enough for the Tigers to drive once for a touchdown or field goal in the last 5:56, let alone twice.

It has to sting that LSU never got the chance to at least see what it could conjure up in a game with such big ramifications.

That the call wasn’t reversed when it should’ve been is one travesty.
That it was called an incomplete pass to begin with – although it was hard to determine that fact – is another injustice.