SEC Suspends Officials from Arkansas-Florida Game

I made the comment to someone today that I don’t think that I have ever seen a more pathetic job of officiating than I did this past weekend when Arkansas got cheated, on several occasions, by the officiating crew.  I am not for sure if these guys were extremely bias towards Florida, or maybe have some sort of man-crush on Tim Tebow, but combined with our missed field goals, it was enough for me to almost go nuts!

I am not for sure if I can remember any other instances where officials were actually suspended by the SEC, wonder why they didn’t just go ahead and fire them?  Do they think that with some encouragement that these officials might not be stupid or bias next week?  Give me a break!  At least they did do something about it, had they not taken some sort of action I would have been dissapointed.

Here’s an article from Today’sTHV about the story:

The SEC announced Wednesday afternoon the SEC crew that worked the Arkansas/Florida game has been suspended.

The officiating crew from Saturday’s Arkansas at Florida football game will be removed from its next scheduled assignment on Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive announced Wednesday.

"A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews," said Slive. "I believe our officiating program is the best in the country, however, there are times when these actions must be taken."

Following each weekend, the conference office reviews games from the previous week, using video replays as well as interviews with officials, coaches and administrators. "While only a few calls have been identified, the entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play. I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program," added Slive. "Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation."

In addition, there will be an impact on eligibility for post-season bowl assignments for the crew. Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino issued a statement following the Southeastern Conference’s announcement.

Coach Petrino said, "We took the appropriate steps to address any issues we had with the league regarding this matter earlier in the week. Our focus as a football team has been and remains on this weekend’s game against Ole Miss."

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My Observations from the Razorback Opener

This past week has been a blur for me so I apologize for the late post regarding the Razorback opening game.  My wife’s grandfather passed away a few days prior to the game so we naturally weren’t in the right frame of mind going into the game but we quickly perked up after the kickoff in which we ran the ball all the way back for a touchdown.

In my jubilation I accidentally knocked one of those hearing devices you can order on television for $19.95 out of an elderly gentleman’s ear that was seated beside me when my attempt to give a total stranger a high five went terribly off target, this is a story within itself but will spare you the details of our seating agony during the game.  I will just say that I was forced to squeeze in behind a 350lb dude that had one of the longest tallest heads I have ever seen and an elderly gentleman that couldn’t hear a word that was announced during the game and had to ask me each time a flag was thrown what the penalty was for.  My preference for ballgames is within the comforts of my parents air-conditioned box in Fayetteville and I guess I am ruined now…

All in the all the Hogs played great I thought, it was hard to guage how good we are going to be however because we didn’t see enough of Ryan Mallett.  Tyler Wilson looked good, but is not anywhere in the league with Mallett.  He (Mallett) was so poised and relaxed in the pocket that I think we are going to see great things out of him when we do face some opposition on defense.  He never panicked.

Having been to several games during the Houston Nutt era at Arkansas, this game was a strong contrast, we moved the ball, and never wasted any downs trying to make a hole somewhere there wasn’t one.  Oh, and by the way, in case you missed it, Houston Nutt took his Ole Miss team into Memphis this weekend and demonstrated once again how to take a much more talented team into a game and almost throw it away.

Other players I was impressed with during the game were Wendell Davis, Wingo and Michael Smith.  I also hope London Crawford is ready to go soon, I haven’t heard a report on his injury yet.  If anyone knows anything on this be sure to let me know.  Here’s the report from KTHV about the game:

The Arkansas Razorbacks began year two with Bobby Petrino by racking up 447 yards through the air in a 48-10 thumping of Missouri State. In the state of Arkansas, black bear hunting season typically does not begin until the winter. Second-year head coach Bobby Petrino and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks got a head start with a 21-point first quarter to begin a 41-10 rout of the Missouri State Bears before a sellout crowd at War Memorial Stadium. The Razorbacks, 1-0, passed for a school record 447 yards behind the efficient work of sophomore Ryan Mallett and freshman Tyler Wilson. Both quarterbacks had sustained touchdown drives for the Razorbacks as Arkansas combined to hit 30 of 41 attempts with a lone interception. Missouri State drops to 0-1 in the season opener for both teams.

"We came down here and did what we set out to do," UA head coach Bobby Petrino said. "I was really happy with our preparation and the way that we traveled. We are a more mature team than we were a year ago and it showed in the game. There is a lot we have to learn, but first and foremost I want to emphasize the positive aspects. We will get to work and fix the negatives by next game."

The Razorbacks took control of the game at the kickoff as Dennis Johnson took Matt Hottelman’s opening kick off 91 yards for the first touchdown of the 2009 season. The PAT from Alex Tejada gave Arkansas a 7-0 lead 18 seconds into the game and led the way for the first 21-point quarter of offense in the Petrino Era at Arkansas. "That kickoff return was demoralizing," Bear cornerback Cedric Alvis said. "College football is all about momentum and we started out without momentum."

Nearby Rogers, Ark., product Cody Kirby managed a first down after the Razorback kickoff, but under pressure from Freddie Burton hurries his pass and was picked by Wendel Davis. Mallett opened his Razorback career with a completion, and guided Arkansas to a short six-play, 46-yard drive capped by a 15-yard untouched draw from Michael Smith for the touchdown. "The opening kickoff and the interception put us in a hole and we’re not a sure enough or good enough football team yet to overcome that," MSU head coach Terry Allen said. "I did see some things in the second half that showed me we were better this week." Missouri State managed to get on the board when Hottleman connected on a career-long 53-yard attempt with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The Razorbacks responed before the end of the quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Broderick Green, set up by a pair of receptions from Mallett to Jarius Wright.

Petrino went to his backup quarterback, Tyler Wilson, for the next series, and the 6-3 freshman led Arkansas to its fourth touchdown of the night. Wilson’s drive saw two fourth down conversions, including the two-yard TD pass to Van Stumon. "I was happy with both of the quarterbacks tonight," Petrino said. "Ryan did a very good job showing a good demeanor and leadership. He got hit a couple times and it was a good thing. He stayed in the pocket and made good decisions. I was happy with the protection, timing, the way the ball came out of his hand and of course the accuracy." Trailing 28-3, Missouri State put together its first touchdown drive of the night, aided by a fourth-down pass interference penalty in the Razorback end zone. After the flag, Jonathan Davis punched the two-yard run in for a 28-10 deficit.

Mallett returned to the game, and took his consecutive pass completions to nine before his first miss. Moving the Hogs inside the Bears’ four yard line, Tejada came on with 14 second left in the half to pick up his first field goal of the season with a 20-yarder to send the teams to halftime at 31-10. "This game was everything I expected it to be," Mallett said. "It has been my lifelong dream to come out and play as a Razorback." Wright closed the first half with more receiving yards, 123, than the entire Missouri State offense as the Bears put up only 120 total yards. The Razorbacks had 290 yards in the first half, mostly through the air thanks to a 16-of-20 overall effort for 251.

Each time it appeared MSU could find life, notably three penalties that extended Bear possessions, Arkansas would deliver another crushing blow. After an interception of Kirby at the Arkansas one yard line by Tramain Thomas, the Razorbacks proceded to march 99 yards in just 94 seconds to score. A 40-yard rambling weave through the Bear secondary by Joe Adams facilitated by key downfield blocks by his fellow receivers ended the lighting drive, and put Arkansas up 38-10 early in the third.

Missouri State couldn’t even win a video challenge from the Razorbacks, as a late fourth quarter punt was ruled to not touch an Arkansas player, giving the ball back the Hogs. Arkansas’ offense was almost perfect, going until the final 1:43 of the game before a turnover as Wilson was picked off by Antonio Brown of MSU. The Bears could muster no further offense, closing the game with only 205 total yards. Arkansas racked up 591 as a team, adding 144 on the ground. Ronnie Wingo, Jr., led the team with 50 net yards, but Smith used his four carries to rack up 43 yards and a touchdown, a 10.8 yards per carry average.

Wright closed with 139 yards on six receptions to lead the Razorbacks. Three other Razorbacks – Joe Adams, Cobi Hamilton and Greg Childs – had four catches. On the evening, Mallett finished his first start for the Razorbacks by hitting 17 of 22 for 309 yards and one touchdown. Wilson was 13 of 19 for 138 yards. By comparison, MSU’s Kirby managed only 13 of 22 with two interceptions and just 205 yards.

One other highlight from the game that happened away from the field and in the midst of all of the tailgaters that I would be remiss for not mentioning happened as we were making our way to our seats.  I witnessed a “well-endowed” young lady, who was obviously under the influence, raise her shirt and shake her breasts at the crowd as we were making our way into the stadium.  The only thing she had on was two plastic Razorback pasties.  Trust me, i couldn’t get to my iPhone in time or you would be seeing that shot here this morning…  Amazing. haa.  My wife fortunately didn’t see this incident or it might well be my last tailgating experience.

Petrino Opens 2009 With Offensive Record – todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR

SI.com – Writers – Stewart Mandel: College Football Mailbag – Wednesday October 17, 2007 2:06PM

I just got finished reading an article by Stewart Mandel on Sports Illustrated, here’s a Link to SI.com – Writers – Stewart Mandel: College Football Mailbag – Wednesday October 17, 2007 2:06PM. I have been trying to stay positive regarding the whole Houston Nutt situation until I felt it appropriate (after the season is over) but it’s getting tougher and tougher to do that as weeks go by and we lose to teams that I know we should be beating. I know that there are a lot of fans out there that feel like all of the “nutt-haters” should keep their opinions to themselves, I do not feel this way at all, in fact I agree with just about every one of the “nutt-haters” out there. I feel that HDN is probably the worst coach in the SEC, has incredible handicap when it comes to his ego, etc., not to mention his play calling lacks creativity. The biggest criticism I hear from the “nutt-lovers” is that he was SEC coach of the year last year and we won 10 games. I think that the factor a lot of those people seem to forget is that 6 of those wins came with Mitch Mustain as QB and Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator, since their departure our program has lacked a whole lot of promise. Just my two cents on this, but be sure to read Stewart’s article where he calls HDN a Dead Man Walking…