This article appearing in the Atlanta Journal really bugs. The obviously biased author citing the unsportsmanlike taunting penalty in the Georgia game as the reason they lost. :angryfire I was hoping the NCAA would soften their approach to these celebration penalties and limit them to taunting but it looks like they are going to be taking an even harder line.:nope: 11:05 am February 12, 2010, by Tim Tucker You hear about the move by the NCAA Football Rules Committee this week to further toughen the unsportsmanlike-conduct/excessive-celebration penalty? The penalty, which stirred much controversy hereabouts when it was incorrectly called on Georgia’s A.J. Green against LSU last season, will get tougher in the 2011 season if approved by one more NCAA committee. Basically, the change would make unsportsmanlike conduct a live-ball foul, meaning, for example, that a taunting gesture en route to a touchdown would nullify the score and be penalized from the spot of the foul. The change would not impact penalties for celebrations in the end zone after a score, such as the one against Green, because those dead-ball fouls would continue to be assessed on the ensuing kickoff or extra-point/two-point conversion attempt. Of course, the problem with the Green penalty was that it never should have been called. The SEC said two days later that video evidence did not support the flag, which came after Green scored the go-ahead touchdown. A 15-yard penalty was assessed on the ensuing kickoff and jump-started LSU’s game-winning touchdown drive. At the least, the Green penalty underscored the subjective and inconsistent nature of such calls. And now the stakes could be raised. This week’s move to toughen the consequences of live-ball unsportsmanlike-conduct flags came in a Wednesday vote by the Football Rules Committee. In a comment posted on the NCAA’s website, committee chairman (and Oregon athletics director) Mike Bellotti says: “Our committee firmly believes in the team concept of college football. Taunting and prolonged individual acts have no place in our game, and our officials have generally handled these rules well. This is just another step in maintaining our game’s image and reflecting the ideals of the NCAA overall.” The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel must approve the change before it can take effect. What say you about this? Also: Another SEC assistant joins $700,000 club. Please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes. ShareThis Print
I read it earlier and didn't think it was too bad. What pissed me off more is that they are goin to take rules that are already ridiculous and make them even more stringent. Great! Next thing you know, a high five will be 15 yards.
Didn't we get penalized on the ensuing kickoff and blew up their return? No argument. But I agree making the penalty more strignet is the wrong way to go. I mean taking away a score? Come on...
The AJC has always been a pro-UGA paper. I didn't think it was that infuriating, other than being off base, something that is also par for the course for the AJC. I'd have been more infuriated if we lost that game.
At this point in time the NCAA should be far more concerned with improving the overall performance level of their officials than turning college football into the new version of the No Fun League. Officiating quality is the 900-pound gorilla in the room nobody seems to want to talk about. There have been several good ideas for improvement, such as separating officials from particular conferences and placing them in a broader geographical pool to avoid having all the same crews calling all the same games. Another thing the NCAA can do is establish uniform standards of competence and performance evaluation instead of leaving it up to conferences, where the SEC is like the good ol boy club.
Hammer meet Nail. Superb post that hits the problem instead of the symptoms. Anyone that saw the Ark-UF game or witnessed bama's 39-straight quarters without a holding call understands the magnitude of the problem in the SEC. For all of our progress in marketing the SEC as a product, the integrity of the conference is eroding at an unprecedented pace. We're talking about a multi-billion dollar enterprise here ..... one that could easily fix these problems, if that is what they desired to do. Think about it :wink:
The SEC can make a good start by purchasing new HD video systems for the replay booths of all member school stadiums and providing HD replay feeds. It's absolutely appalling that a fan sitting at home with an HD TV and TiVO has a better view of a crucial play than the actual replay official at the freakin game. The conference pulls in millions upon millions of dollars, but they can't go down to Best Buy and get a couple of 50" LCD TVs for each school for, what, a few grand per school at the most? Give me a break.
