Headlinin’: This week in lamentable SEC officiating

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October 26, 2009

• The Never-Ending Sorry. The conference has spent much of the last three weeks calling out its own officials for bad calls in nationally televised games, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that coaches are taking it upon themselves to open up on those lousy SEC refs after another sketchy weekend. First up: Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, who was incensed that officials failed to overturn Dustin Doe’s icing interception return in the fourth quarter of MSU’s loss to Florida despite losing control of the ball before he crossed the goal line:

The SEC is going to find it hard to avoid agreeing with him after setting the precedent of public piper-paying by publicly validating criticism of bad calls and putting an entire crew on ice last week, and Mullen sounded on Sunday like he’s out for the same pound of flesh for the replay official who let Doe’s touchdown stand:

That’s twice that they’ve blown calls on the replay with our games resulting in big plays and I think that’s unexcusable for that official. I mean, I hope he is severely punished, if (he) ever works another SEC game again, because I think it is completely unacceptable.

The league’s contrite press release should be forthcoming, and it’s only going to be by some lawyerly hair-splitting that it gets to sidestep Lane Kiffin’s public criticism of Terrence Cody’s unflagged helmet-shedding after the big man blocked Tennessee’s last-second field goal attempt to win at Alabama — per Kiffin: "I’m sure we’ll get one of those letters that mean nothing, that Bobby (Petrino) got last week, but Florida and Alabama live on,." Obviously, this is a Pandora’s box that stern reprimands aren’t going to close.

• Tebow needs to be alone. In the meantime, Tim Tebow reacted to his worst game ever — courtesy of a pair of pick-sixes to MSU’s Johnthan Banks that kept the Bulldogs in the game despite failing to mount anything against the Gator defense — by uncharacteristically shunning the media following the game. Urban Meyer spoke for his star protegé instead:

Coach Urban Meyer said Sunday that QB Tim Tebow has no chemistry issues with his wide receivers but is "very frustrated," as well as the offense, with recent performances.
[...]
"He’s used to playing at a high level," Meyer said. "A lot of guys are frustrated. You go and win by 10 points on the road, it’s the same old song and dance from a couple of weeks. Guys want to play better."

Understandable, but this is still the No. 1 team in the country, right? And Tebow is the guy who responded to his team’s only loss in the last two years by issuing the heroic promise that carried the Gators on majestic unicorn wings through the rest of last year’s championship run, isn’t he? Are hints of dysfunction a good sign for Georgia on Saturday, or do they portend a mighty smiting at hand? It’s going to be another interesting week from Gainesville.

• Thou shalt not tweet your mind. Hyped freshman Randall Carroll stunned everyone in February by opting for UCLA over USC, but he’s been quiet so far for the languishing Bruins, and his Twitter advice to one of this year’s most sought-after L.A. recruits, Dietrich Riley, isn’t going in any brochures for Westwood:

The post, from the account of OCiAM, dated Oct. 22, referred to the Bruins’ last three games before Saturday and read, "man oregon, stanford and cal should have been easy wins ,, but [expletive] thys [racial slur] norm chow dnt be trustin us ,, so it is what it is."

Uh, sic, obviously. Carroll shrugged off the slur-iffic shot at his offensive coordinator as the momentary ravings of a kid who was "frustrated, tired of losing" after three straight losses. No word from Chow, but the Twitter account attributed to Carroll no longer exists, and Riley’s is now shielded from public view. No speculation here on the specific slur directed at Chow.

Quickly … Michigan center David Molk’s return was short-lived: He left the game in the first quarter against Penn State and may not be back this season. … Kentucky lost its leading tackler, Micah Johnson, to an MCL sprain in its win over Louisiana-Monroe. … Iowa offensive lineman Dace Richardson is probably out for the season with a broken ankle. … Jim Leavitt contemplates some defensive changes after two straight losses by USF. … The Washington Post asks readers if Maryland will win another game, and the response is pretty resounding. … Tennessee fans remain an optimistic lot following the last-second heartbreaker. … Nebraska’s on a two-game skid, but don’t forget about Ndamukong Suh. … And state troopers protect Bob Stoops from assault by flying soda bottle as the Sooners left Kansas with a convincing win.

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