What Do They Watch In There?

SEC replay officials again leave you wondering what they are watching in there. It certainly does not appear they are watching the game, but maybe reruns of the Jeff Foxworthy show instead. In the fourth quarter of today's game at Alabama, LSU corner Patrick Peterson intercepted a Greg McElroy pass to give the Tigers the ball trailing by six with a chance to win the game. The ruling on the field was incomplete, out of bounds. Replays showed Peterson's left foot in the field of play near the sideline. It was close to the sideline, but it was clearly in. Still shots of the replay show the ball in his hands with his foot down, but replay officials apparently did not find it to be conclusive enough to overturn the incorrect call. It is understandable that they do not want to continually reverse close possession calls, but boundary rulings are cut and dry. You are either in or out, and he was clearly just inside the line. As far as I know the rule book only says you have to be inside the line, not a yard inside the line. Alabama instead was able to maintain possession and kick a field goal to put the game away. Who know if LSU would have scored to take the lead, but they at least earned the opportunity to try. Patrick Peterson played a great game and made a game changing play only to have it taken away by inept review officials. The SEC will again spend their week discussing poor officiating. The photo below shows the divot created by Peterson's foot and gives you an idea of how far in he was.

Lane Kiffin Reprimanded by SEC

University of Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin, along with Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen, was reprimanded Monday by SEC officials for criticizing referees. Dan Mullen had a legitimate gripe. Florida linebacker Dustin Doe intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to extend Florida's lead to 29-13. Replays clearly showed that Doe was stripped of the ball at about the 2 yard line, while prematurely celebrating (and no, there is not a pill for that). While the outcome of the game likely would not have changed, it certainly would have made things much more interesting. Kiffin, on the other hand, seems to be using his gripe as an excuse to cover up for poor coaching. With Tennessee trailing by 2 and 38 seconds remaining, Kiffin elected to run the clock down and attempt a 46 yard field goal rather than run a 3rd down play. His kicker had already missed from 48 yards and had a 44 yard attempt blocked earlier in the game. Kiffin claimed he did not want to run another play for fear of an interception or the ref's "losing a game for us there and some magical flag appear." Here's an idea. Hand the ball to your best offensive player, Montario Hardesty, and let him try to grind out a few more yards to help out your obviously struggling kicker. Kiffin also complained about no flag being thrown for Terrence Cody removing his helmet after blocking the field goal. Even if the referee had thrown a flag, Tennessee would not have had another chance at the field goal. The penalty would have been enforced on the next play, which would have been an Alabama offensive play. Had Kiffin done a better job of coaching his players, it may have made a difference. Because the blocked field goal did not cross the line of scrimmage, Tennessee could have recovered the ball and tried to run with it. Had they recovered it, the non-call would have made a difference because Tennessee would have had possession of the ball. Perhaps, Lane should stop worrying so much about everyone else and worry about coaching his team.