It seems like anything involving money and the human spirit, such as sports, politics, religion, etc…feels flawed and dirty at times these days. Integrity feels like a thing of the past.
It is a reflection of the corruption within American halls of power. Start looking into why we feel this way. It will be the most enlightening experience of your life when you truly understand what has happened to American values, exemplified by the spirit of 1776.
I'm glad the AD said something. We need more ADs to start doing that and questioning the competency and integrity of the officiating. Worried about the punishment from the commissioner? You're their boss and officiating is their responsibility! Start holding them accountable and fine THEM for the poor officiating in their conference. It's become unbearable in every conference.
I'm to the point until it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt it isn't happening, I'm convinced the officials are on the take or the games are rigged. No way the officiating is this bad, game after game, year after year without something illegal or unethical going on.
Perhaps it has something to do with the proliferation of gambling within sports today. I've always said there are three teams on the field. It's time we vet officials. More than enough questionable calls to merit a serious look and there is too much money at stake now for the conferences. Huge conflict of interest.
Woulda Shoulda Coulda. Fans can’t blame one or two missed calls when the their team (Utah in this case) didn’t even score in the fourth. Also, you can’t let a good team like BYU hang around.
I am for one college football league (different divisions). An east and a west. And all the refs are governed the same, like the NFL. No Big12 refs/SEC refs for example. Just college football refs. I remember back when the real Pac12 conference was alive, I could always count on their clueless refs to screw up something big each game.
I cannot stand when somebody says "one or two calls" don't affect the game. Or it's team A's fault for not scoring. Utah stopped BYU. That one call did affect the game.
So, bottom line, isn't the question whether or not there was holding or wasn't there? If there was then blame the player, not the ref. If there wasn't then blame the official. Or was it just a little bit of holding? How much holding is allowed?
The same amount that had been allowed all game. It needs to be consistent. In this case, it was not. There was no more on this call than there had been all game between both teams.
I watched the game. I also watched the OSU/SJSU game that had some horrible officiating. I also spent 10 years officiating high school football. So, relax. The point was, saying fans cannot blame the game on one or two calls shows you have a lot to learn.
There are blown calls every game, every sport, every game/competition. We are talking college fyi. A lot different than high school. Hope you learn what sport it is people are talking about before commenting a liquid diarrhea reply.
There are in fact blown calls in every game, every sport, etc. The problem is, it has been a consistent issue in college football that seems to be getting worse. More so than other sports. There are a lot of reasons why the officiating is bad, including training, part time employees, pay, recruiting and retention etc. Learn more about the sport you seem to care about before making ridiculous, uneducated comments. It will save you a lot of time and embarrassment in the future.
I agree that the Utah AD will "pay the price," but I admire him for having the balls to stand up and speak out about the poor officiating. The quality of officiating isn't getting better in any sport at any level, it contines to decline, and why? It has to be called out. OSU's Trent Bray "quietly" criticized the officiating during his halftime interview on the radio broadcast, and San Jose State's coach went after the officials after the game -- and his team won. That tells us how poor officiating has become.
"Utah AD will pay the price for the sharing of his opinion"
Isn't that just plain sad in this country?
One of the very reasons my grandfather, father and many other families went through the process to become citizens of this county. "freedom of opinion"
The same reason why every day my grandmother would not allow us to speak in our native tongue while at her home.
She reminded us daily that we had freedoms that were taken away from them. Their property was taken away because someone else made the decision that they "should pay the price" and not be allowed voice their opinions.
This country needs to remain open to freedom of thoughts, ideas and opinions.
I love that he said something. Its the only way things will change. And yes, sometimes one or two calls do change the outcome of a game. It happened in this game.
Officiating in the FBS is not too good. The Oregon State game also had some incredibly bad calls, albeit they went both ways and OSU is so bad it would not have affected the outcome. But there needs to be a remedy for bad officiating. All calls need to be reviewable, including personal fouls, holding and PI. The "roughing the passer" penalty on OSU when the defender's hand brushed the face mask, did not grab or turn it, as he was swatting at the pass, on 4th down, was brutal. So was the PI call that followed in the end zone when the CB turned, found the ball, swatted it away, and was somehow called for the penalty. Even the pro-SJSU announcers could not believe that call. I did not watch the BYU-Utah game, but am not surprised it was close or that BYU pulled out the win. Too bad it had to be controversial
Review is no guarantee. Yesterday I watched a close call on a reception get reviewed, and the catch was upheld despite the replay clearly showing the receivers' foot was down partially out of bounds.
Well, you cannot eliminate corruption without firing people. Let any official who would blatantly override a call reversal know they are gone right after that game. Money talks
The back judge in the OSU SJSU game was terrible. The 2nd OPI on SJSU was non-existent as was the DPI on OSU earlier in the game. Those were Pac12 refs and with the changes the quality of the worse refs in the NCAA has become even worse.
Is officiating worse today than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago? Nope. It has always been a problem in all sports. It is part of the game. Winners overcome it, losers complain about it. Go Cougs!
There is so much inconsistency in officiating and it seems worse this year. But I guess you get what you pay for. If you expect consistency from a bunch of part time employees with different bosses this is what you get.
The officiating in the OSU game was the worst I’ve ever seen. It was not biased and did not change the outcome. It was just horrible. It makes one wonder how much replay has altered how refs call games as many mistakes can be rectified. Replay, however, doesn’t address pass interference and defensive holding. These are so subjective, especially with all the hand fighting going on. There needs to be a concerted effort to improve consistency across college football. Seems like an opportunity for the new PAC-12, especially since the prior version of the conference was less than stellar.
Had Utah won, does that mean the officials stole it from BYU and gave it to UU?
To blame the officials, is to take no responsibility for your actions and it disrespects the opponent. To go this route means that your team doesn't win the contest but the officials gave them the victory. Is this really the way we want to do?
For all you complaining about the officiating, I have a suggestion. Join them. Experience it first hand hard it is to work a game. Then comment.
At the end of the day, officials are human. Which means they are not perfect. Are any of us out there perfect?
Oh let's leave a P4 league because of my pouting over a call. Yeah, like the officiating will be any better in a different league. C'mon that's absurd.
Don't be so sure Boise St. is all that. They haven't been rolling over UNLV and Nevada. Outside of Oregon they've played no one. Waazu? Please.
Utah appears to have been hosed here. And yes, it looks fishy. The B12 is mediocre. Boise State would whoop every school in the conference and Wazzu would whoop most. On the Cougs, dominant win last night and Mateer with another 5 touchdowns. It speaks to the corruption in college football that the refs worked with BYU on the win and Mateer isn’t a top 4 Heisman candidate.
Bad call but Utah had the ball twice in BYU terrritory in the 4th quarter and could not even get a first down let alone extending their lead. If they had a semblance of an offense in the second half this does not come down to a late field goal.
That simply does not matter. Utah stopped BYU and won the game. The officials changed the outcome. It is not Utah's fault for not scoring. They stepped up and stopped BYU.
My guess is we can get Utah back to the PAC12 after this idiocy by the Big12 officials. They'd be a great 8th football and all sports team for the PAC That was true robbery. For any one who didn't see it on TV or live like John Here is the video from X. https://x.com/CFBONFOX/status/1855516285645570348
I was at the game and, up to this moment, hadn't seen a replay of the so-called penalty. Quite simply, it was a BS call. There's nothing there...Ratzleff has what, 1.5-2 seconds before he's wrapped up for the sack? It reminded of the other famous BS call that stopped Miami from winning the NC back in 2003 versus Ohio State. Whatever, it's this kind of crap, along with all of the other associated shenanigans (NIL, unlimited transfers, bicoastal conferences) that's killing college sports.
The official calling the hold likely had no idea the BYU QB was under duress and the QB couldn't see the receiver. But, technically it was probably a hold.
Have always been a proponent of officials altering their calls during the closing minutes. They shouldn't be obvious to the outcome. I know some will say "call it the same throughout!" but that's just as unrealistic as expecting perfection. Swallow the damn whistle unless it's so egregious it's impossible to ignore! Let the player's decide their fate.
It seems like anything involving money and the human spirit, such as sports, politics, religion, etc…feels flawed and dirty at times these days. Integrity feels like a thing of the past.
It is a reflection of the corruption within American halls of power. Start looking into why we feel this way. It will be the most enlightening experience of your life when you truly understand what has happened to American values, exemplified by the spirit of 1776.
Spot on. I feel the same way, and it’s across many things as you say.
I'm glad the AD said something. We need more ADs to start doing that and questioning the competency and integrity of the officiating. Worried about the punishment from the commissioner? You're their boss and officiating is their responsibility! Start holding them accountable and fine THEM for the poor officiating in their conference. It's become unbearable in every conference.
Exactly!
100% this. Every week it's the same conversation. Something has to change.
I'm to the point until it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt it isn't happening, I'm convinced the officials are on the take or the games are rigged. No way the officiating is this bad, game after game, year after year without something illegal or unethical going on.
1000%...let me let you in on a little secret....whole system is on the take, it really is.
Perhaps it has something to do with the proliferation of gambling within sports today. I've always said there are three teams on the field. It's time we vet officials. More than enough questionable calls to merit a serious look and there is too much money at stake now for the conferences. Huge conflict of interest.
I mean it doesn’t hurt the PAC to at least call and see if there is a chance.
Woulda Shoulda Coulda. Fans can’t blame one or two missed calls when the their team (Utah in this case) didn’t even score in the fourth. Also, you can’t let a good team like BYU hang around.
I am for one college football league (different divisions). An east and a west. And all the refs are governed the same, like the NFL. No Big12 refs/SEC refs for example. Just college football refs. I remember back when the real Pac12 conference was alive, I could always count on their clueless refs to screw up something big each game.
I cannot stand when somebody says "one or two calls" don't affect the game. Or it's team A's fault for not scoring. Utah stopped BYU. That one call did affect the game.
So, bottom line, isn't the question whether or not there was holding or wasn't there? If there was then blame the player, not the ref. If there wasn't then blame the official. Or was it just a little bit of holding? How much holding is allowed?
The same amount that had been allowed all game. It needs to be consistent. In this case, it was not. There was no more on this call than there had been all game between both teams.
I can’t stand it when people who do not watch sports, let alone the sport topic of an article, reply to my comments.
I watched the game. I also watched the OSU/SJSU game that had some horrible officiating. I also spent 10 years officiating high school football. So, relax. The point was, saying fans cannot blame the game on one or two calls shows you have a lot to learn.
There are blown calls every game, every sport, every game/competition. We are talking college fyi. A lot different than high school. Hope you learn what sport it is people are talking about before commenting a liquid diarrhea reply.
There are in fact blown calls in every game, every sport, etc. The problem is, it has been a consistent issue in college football that seems to be getting worse. More so than other sports. There are a lot of reasons why the officiating is bad, including training, part time employees, pay, recruiting and retention etc. Learn more about the sport you seem to care about before making ridiculous, uneducated comments. It will save you a lot of time and embarrassment in the future.
Hit n run
A good idea. I agree.
“Down deep, they must know they could have made the officiating a moot point by playing a little better.”
Yup
It’s a game of calls
Good ones
Bad ones
I should know. Been a PAC-fan for over 60 years
Utah AD will pay the price for the sharing of his opinion
Fans from both sides will have lots to talk about for a long time
Life will go on
David,
Well said.
I agree that the Utah AD will "pay the price," but I admire him for having the balls to stand up and speak out about the poor officiating. The quality of officiating isn't getting better in any sport at any level, it contines to decline, and why? It has to be called out. OSU's Trent Bray "quietly" criticized the officiating during his halftime interview on the radio broadcast, and San Jose State's coach went after the officials after the game -- and his team won. That tells us how poor officiating has become.
"Utah AD will pay the price for the sharing of his opinion"
Isn't that just plain sad in this country?
One of the very reasons my grandfather, father and many other families went through the process to become citizens of this county. "freedom of opinion"
The same reason why every day my grandmother would not allow us to speak in our native tongue while at her home.
She reminded us daily that we had freedoms that were taken away from them. Their property was taken away because someone else made the decision that they "should pay the price" and not be allowed voice their opinions.
This country needs to remain open to freedom of thoughts, ideas and opinions.
Just ask my grandmother!
I love your grandmother
I love that he said something. Its the only way things will change. And yes, sometimes one or two calls do change the outcome of a game. It happened in this game.
Officiating in the FBS is not too good. The Oregon State game also had some incredibly bad calls, albeit they went both ways and OSU is so bad it would not have affected the outcome. But there needs to be a remedy for bad officiating. All calls need to be reviewable, including personal fouls, holding and PI. The "roughing the passer" penalty on OSU when the defender's hand brushed the face mask, did not grab or turn it, as he was swatting at the pass, on 4th down, was brutal. So was the PI call that followed in the end zone when the CB turned, found the ball, swatted it away, and was somehow called for the penalty. Even the pro-SJSU announcers could not believe that call. I did not watch the BYU-Utah game, but am not surprised it was close or that BYU pulled out the win. Too bad it had to be controversial
If all calls were reviewable the games would last for 5 hours...no thanks.
“Reviewable” does not mean reviewed. Give each team 3 discretionary reviews
Good point…maybe lose a time out if they lose the review like in the NFL?
Review is no guarantee. Yesterday I watched a close call on a reception get reviewed, and the catch was upheld despite the replay clearly showing the receivers' foot was down partially out of bounds.
Well, you cannot eliminate corruption without firing people. Let any official who would blatantly override a call reversal know they are gone right after that game. Money talks
The back judge in the OSU SJSU game was terrible. The 2nd OPI on SJSU was non-existent as was the DPI on OSU earlier in the game. Those were Pac12 refs and with the changes the quality of the worse refs in the NCAA has become even worse.
Is officiating worse today than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago? Nope. It has always been a problem in all sports. It is part of the game. Winners overcome it, losers complain about it. Go Cougs!
Disagree. Yes, it is worse than it used to be ... in all sports. And now we have winners going after officials after a game.
There is so much inconsistency in officiating and it seems worse this year. But I guess you get what you pay for. If you expect consistency from a bunch of part time employees with different bosses this is what you get.
The officiating in the OSU game was the worst I’ve ever seen. It was not biased and did not change the outcome. It was just horrible. It makes one wonder how much replay has altered how refs call games as many mistakes can be rectified. Replay, however, doesn’t address pass interference and defensive holding. These are so subjective, especially with all the hand fighting going on. There needs to be a concerted effort to improve consistency across college football. Seems like an opportunity for the new PAC-12, especially since the prior version of the conference was less than stellar.
Had Utah won, does that mean the officials stole it from BYU and gave it to UU?
To blame the officials, is to take no responsibility for your actions and it disrespects the opponent. To go this route means that your team doesn't win the contest but the officials gave them the victory. Is this really the way we want to do?
For all you complaining about the officiating, I have a suggestion. Join them. Experience it first hand hard it is to work a game. Then comment.
At the end of the day, officials are human. Which means they are not perfect. Are any of us out there perfect?
Who else here had to Google "Hercule Poirot"?
Hilarious...classic :)))
Nope!
Oh let's leave a P4 league because of my pouting over a call. Yeah, like the officiating will be any better in a different league. C'mon that's absurd.
Don't be so sure Boise St. is all that. They haven't been rolling over UNLV and Nevada. Outside of Oregon they've played no one. Waazu? Please.
Isn't Wazzu a one loss team?
With a schedule weak like Boise.
Utah appears to have been hosed here. And yes, it looks fishy. The B12 is mediocre. Boise State would whoop every school in the conference and Wazzu would whoop most. On the Cougs, dominant win last night and Mateer with another 5 touchdowns. It speaks to the corruption in college football that the refs worked with BYU on the win and Mateer isn’t a top 4 Heisman candidate.
Bad call but Utah had the ball twice in BYU terrritory in the 4th quarter and could not even get a first down let alone extending their lead. If they had a semblance of an offense in the second half this does not come down to a late field goal.
That simply does not matter. Utah stopped BYU and won the game. The officials changed the outcome. It is not Utah's fault for not scoring. They stepped up and stopped BYU.
I don’t disagree, but the call that cost them the game appears to have been a phantom. No?
I do agree that was a call that should not have been made…especially at that time in the game. It did seem to deflate Utah a lot and re-energize BYU.
There would be no holy war if it didn’t have holy smokes imbedded in it somewhere along the line
My guess is we can get Utah back to the PAC12 after this idiocy by the Big12 officials. They'd be a great 8th football and all sports team for the PAC That was true robbery. For any one who didn't see it on TV or live like John Here is the video from X. https://x.com/CFBONFOX/status/1855516285645570348
I was at the game and, up to this moment, hadn't seen a replay of the so-called penalty. Quite simply, it was a BS call. There's nothing there...Ratzleff has what, 1.5-2 seconds before he's wrapped up for the sack? It reminded of the other famous BS call that stopped Miami from winning the NC back in 2003 versus Ohio State. Whatever, it's this kind of crap, along with all of the other associated shenanigans (NIL, unlimited transfers, bicoastal conferences) that's killing college sports.
Here is a better view of the receiver being grabbed/held (upper right). The receiver stumbled as a result.
https://x.com/RedditCFB/status/1855625844275781651
The official calling the hold likely had no idea the BYU QB was under duress and the QB couldn't see the receiver. But, technically it was probably a hold.
Have always been a proponent of officials altering their calls during the closing minutes. They shouldn't be obvious to the outcome. I know some will say "call it the same throughout!" but that's just as unrealistic as expecting perfection. Swallow the damn whistle unless it's so egregious it's impossible to ignore! Let the player's decide their fate.
100%