I watched the Oregon-Washington State game yesterday, but unfortunately did not see any other PAC 12 action. But as you know John, I have been to and watched a ton of PAC 12 games and have for years. I’ve also officiated football, but not at the collegiate level, as well as basketball and 37 years of professional baseball.
Losing track of the down is embarrassing and just shouldn’t happen. You have eight officials on the field, plus the replay official, who if sees a down being skipped or added, can alert the on field officials. 
And as a side note...I’m not sure if, by rule, the officials yesterday could go back to 2nd down. The rule may limit the “do over” to where they went, 3rd down. I’m not a college football rule expert and may be wrong.
The PAC 12 conference has taken its shots in recent years over officiating. Some is justified, some is piling on.
But I take extreme exception with any thoughts that officials cheat to make sure conference “big boys” win games, or that executives from the league office tell officials to “help out“ certain teams. 
You can call holding practically every play. To call a foul, you not only need an illegal action, but the judgment of the official concerning advantage/disadvantage. An infraction away from the ball, having nothing to do with the point of attack, will usually be ignored (unless a personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct, or a safety issue).
The operative term above is “judgement of the official.” All of us have judgement, but not all of us have good officiating judgment. As we always said at umpire school, you can teach mechanics, rules, positioning, angles, but you can’t teach judgment. Either you have good judgment, or you don’t. 
In general, fans have questionable if not poor judgment, especially concerning their team. And that’s ok, fans should be a bit illogical and watch with rose colored glasses. I and my fellow officials wouldn’t want it any other way!
However, allegations that officials are cheating (and that’s what someone is accusing when they say calls are made or ignored to favor a team, or that the conference instructs officials to favor a school), not only crosses a line, but chips away the integrity of the entire sport.
You may think an official is incompetent or has poor judgement. You may feel your team never gets a break. But contrary to what seems to be in vogue these days, not everything is a conspiracy.
A few years ago, the Pac-12 experienced an unimaginable crisis when an administrator with no background in officiating interfered in the replay review process during the USC-Washington State game. Remember that? Just enough "stuff" like this happens to make people justifiably wonder.
Won't say it's a conspiracy but when the holding is so bad it changes the outcome of a game it's a problem. Beavers had lineman taken off their feet, no call, converted 4th down. pi in the end zone in front of ref, no call. Total loss of forward momentum by the runner, going backwards until someone pushes him back forward...well allow it, 1st and 10. Running out the play clock 3 times in a half to the point commentators say bringing it up about how the refs are giving them leeway.... Come on.
USC didn't win that game the beavers lost it, but this didn't help and arguably would have kept them out of some of the key situations that decided the game.
If it's holding, then call holding. If it's every play, then teams will adapt. Just as they try in regard to targeting.
My understanding the teams and officials go over rules every year. Go over the change in philosophy, which is all this is, and start calling violations regardless of where they happen.
It's ridiculous to allow officials to judge whether something will not affect the play while the play is still running.
PAC-12 commish lauds officials for keeping conference marquee teams in playoff picture. “It was close but we managed to pull it off without anyone noticing,” he was overheard saying.
I’m a Duck fan who happened to be tuned into the Beavers vs USC last night and I’m glad you pointed out all of the blatant USC holding, much of which happened right in front of an official. Even the PAC 12 Network broadcast crew mentioned it. I understand not calling it if, in the official’s judgment, it doesn’t effect the outcome of the play, but these holds allowed USC’s QB to deftly elude rushers time and time again. Add to that the whole mess in the Oregon game yesterday, as well as all of the reviews that happen so many times that they impede game momentum. I’m not accusing Pac 12 officials of cheating for any team; I’m accusing them of being the most inept and inconsistent football officials in all of college football. The problem is fixable, and it’s past time Kliavkoff does what needs to be done to rectify the situation.
We’ve been hearing for 20 years that the commissioner’s office was working to improve the quality of officiating in Pac 12. Don’t understand why it’s so difficult. Just see what Big 10 and SEC do and do THAT. Big 12, not so much.
Regarding the lost down I believe what happened was that the down box guys in the chain crew turned the down too soon to second down. When the officials were administering the penalty they saw that it was second down and as there is no repeat down for intentional grounding they thought it should be 3rd down.
The down could've been corrected at any time prior to the snap of the ball up until a new series of downs, a score, or a change of possession. plays that have been run while the down was incorrect have to stand.
It was a big moment in the game. I knew EVERY down counted stopping either offense. I can’t believe WSU coaches didn’t stomp on the field and get penalized before allowing the game to continue incorrectly. A local paper quoted the WSU coach as saying the officials eventually got it correct. How can WSU coaches not understand they got robbed of 2nd down.
They did know they got robbed...but there is only so much you can do when officials have a "we're always right and you're always wrong" attitude. As long as officials have that attitude instead of a "lets get it right every time" attitude...there will be problems.
Thank you John for bringing this topic up. The entire official team that worked the WSU/UO game should be fired or at least suspended for the remainder of the year. The focus primarily in these comments are on the fiasco 3rd down call back thing. I want the league to explain the interception by the UO player after the WSU player clearly had the ball falling to the ground, both knees on the ground they roll over and the UO player yanks the ball and gets the turnover. No way. It is just unbelievable what these officials get away with in the Pac12.
I'm biased, but there were several missed egregious holding penalties not called on USC. The biggest was a hold in their own endzone that should have resulted in a safety.
I have a longtime friend who happens to be an official. He doesn’t like criticism of refs, but the social media complaints were pointed. And the Beavs were decidedly on the short end of the stick in most cases. Very sad.
I am an OSU Beaver but a "platypus" when it comes to every Pac-12 game EXCEPT the annual Platypus (formerly Civil War) game. It can't only be me that feels hurt when they see Travis Dye in a Trojan uniform? Betrayal is to strong a sentiment, but it just doesn't seem right.
Stanford seems really bad. Are they bad? Meanwhile, Arizona seems vastly improved on offense. But when a Justin Wilcox Cal team drops 49 on you, your defense is suspect. (Yes, Jadyn Ott is a star in the making, but still.)
Stanford is really bad. Have been for the past three years. Their recruiting is improving but David Shaw is going to have a real hard time getting back to where he was. Injuries and the transfer portal have decimated the program. I don't think a coaching change would help. The school just isn't oriented toward football.
Shaw may be entering a burnout phase as he has been there for a long time. Sort of like what happened to Jeff Tedford at Cal. He started developing some health issues and the team APR started falling and the team regressed on the field.
Officiating aside it is nice to see this Oregon team coming together and seemingly improving from week to week as opposed to the former guy’s teams. If that trend continues they will be more than ready for that dicey November stretch.
Nice start for UW, but not sold after four wins against weak teams at home (see MSU 35-7 loss at home to Minn.). Curious to see what they do on the road against a semi-decent UCLA team (and a mostly empty Rose Bowl).
I really am not a conspiracy guy but it appears that the Pac12 officials are doing what they can to make the Pac relevant. We, Pac12, need relevant teams and they want UO and USC. Problem is they can not play and win without intervention. Love the Beavs Defense.
Shame on the officials but what was the WSU during the missed down. Their failure here is as bad as the refs blunder.
Exactly. Not one person from WSU knew they had only run 1 play???
Coach literally told them they were wrong and they told him to go away.
watch dickert explain during the post game interview. he did bring it up.
I watched the Oregon-Washington State game yesterday, but unfortunately did not see any other PAC 12 action. But as you know John, I have been to and watched a ton of PAC 12 games and have for years. I’ve also officiated football, but not at the collegiate level, as well as basketball and 37 years of professional baseball.
Losing track of the down is embarrassing and just shouldn’t happen. You have eight officials on the field, plus the replay official, who if sees a down being skipped or added, can alert the on field officials. 
And as a side note...I’m not sure if, by rule, the officials yesterday could go back to 2nd down. The rule may limit the “do over” to where they went, 3rd down. I’m not a college football rule expert and may be wrong.
The PAC 12 conference has taken its shots in recent years over officiating. Some is justified, some is piling on.
But I take extreme exception with any thoughts that officials cheat to make sure conference “big boys” win games, or that executives from the league office tell officials to “help out“ certain teams. 
You can call holding practically every play. To call a foul, you not only need an illegal action, but the judgment of the official concerning advantage/disadvantage. An infraction away from the ball, having nothing to do with the point of attack, will usually be ignored (unless a personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct, or a safety issue).
The operative term above is “judgement of the official.” All of us have judgement, but not all of us have good officiating judgment. As we always said at umpire school, you can teach mechanics, rules, positioning, angles, but you can’t teach judgment. Either you have good judgment, or you don’t. 
In general, fans have questionable if not poor judgment, especially concerning their team. And that’s ok, fans should be a bit illogical and watch with rose colored glasses. I and my fellow officials wouldn’t want it any other way!
However, allegations that officials are cheating (and that’s what someone is accusing when they say calls are made or ignored to favor a team, or that the conference instructs officials to favor a school), not only crosses a line, but chips away the integrity of the entire sport.
You may think an official is incompetent or has poor judgement. You may feel your team never gets a break. But contrary to what seems to be in vogue these days, not everything is a conspiracy.
A few years ago, the Pac-12 experienced an unimaginable crisis when an administrator with no background in officiating interfered in the replay review process during the USC-Washington State game. Remember that? Just enough "stuff" like this happens to make people justifiably wonder.
Won't say it's a conspiracy but when the holding is so bad it changes the outcome of a game it's a problem. Beavers had lineman taken off their feet, no call, converted 4th down. pi in the end zone in front of ref, no call. Total loss of forward momentum by the runner, going backwards until someone pushes him back forward...well allow it, 1st and 10. Running out the play clock 3 times in a half to the point commentators say bringing it up about how the refs are giving them leeway.... Come on.
USC didn't win that game the beavers lost it, but this didn't help and arguably would have kept them out of some of the key situations that decided the game.
If it's holding, then call holding. If it's every play, then teams will adapt. Just as they try in regard to targeting.
My understanding the teams and officials go over rules every year. Go over the change in philosophy, which is all this is, and start calling violations regardless of where they happen.
It's ridiculous to allow officials to judge whether something will not affect the play while the play is still running.
Where is Woody Dixon when you need him? His hotline to the command center could have come in handy yesterday.
ALSO: I reckon the dude who put $110k on the Beavers to cover is partying today!
PAC-12 commish lauds officials for keeping conference marquee teams in playoff picture. “It was close but we managed to pull it off without anyone noticing,” he was overheard saying.
If that’s true, How do you explain last year Stanford Oregon blunders when Ducks were number 2(?) and got hosed by the PI call as time expired?
Oregon was never a number 2 team last year. Rated? Yes. Actual? No. Moot point.
I’m a Duck fan who happened to be tuned into the Beavers vs USC last night and I’m glad you pointed out all of the blatant USC holding, much of which happened right in front of an official. Even the PAC 12 Network broadcast crew mentioned it. I understand not calling it if, in the official’s judgment, it doesn’t effect the outcome of the play, but these holds allowed USC’s QB to deftly elude rushers time and time again. Add to that the whole mess in the Oregon game yesterday, as well as all of the reviews that happen so many times that they impede game momentum. I’m not accusing Pac 12 officials of cheating for any team; I’m accusing them of being the most inept and inconsistent football officials in all of college football. The problem is fixable, and it’s past time Kliavkoff does what needs to be done to rectify the situation.
It wasn't just holding either, pi, the push, the play clock running out multiple times with no call. Nuts
We’ve been hearing for 20 years that the commissioner’s office was working to improve the quality of officiating in Pac 12. Don’t understand why it’s so difficult. Just see what Big 10 and SEC do and do THAT. Big 12, not so much.
Regarding the lost down I believe what happened was that the down box guys in the chain crew turned the down too soon to second down. When the officials were administering the penalty they saw that it was second down and as there is no repeat down for intentional grounding they thought it should be 3rd down.
The down could've been corrected at any time prior to the snap of the ball up until a new series of downs, a score, or a change of possession. plays that have been run while the down was incorrect have to stand.
It was a big moment in the game. I knew EVERY down counted stopping either offense. I can’t believe WSU coaches didn’t stomp on the field and get penalized before allowing the game to continue incorrectly. A local paper quoted the WSU coach as saying the officials eventually got it correct. How can WSU coaches not understand they got robbed of 2nd down.
They did know they got robbed...but there is only so much you can do when officials have a "we're always right and you're always wrong" attitude. As long as officials have that attitude instead of a "lets get it right every time" attitude...there will be problems.
why the heck didn't a single WSU coach know that it was 2nd down? they had only run 1 play!
Thank you John for bringing this topic up. The entire official team that worked the WSU/UO game should be fired or at least suspended for the remainder of the year. The focus primarily in these comments are on the fiasco 3rd down call back thing. I want the league to explain the interception by the UO player after the WSU player clearly had the ball falling to the ground, both knees on the ground they roll over and the UO player yanks the ball and gets the turnover. No way. It is just unbelievable what these officials get away with in the Pac12.
Yeah that was terrible. He was laying flat on the ground before the ball was take. How much more DOWN can you be
I'm biased, but there were several missed egregious holding penalties not called on USC. The biggest was a hold in their own endzone that should have resulted in a safety.
I have a longtime friend who happens to be an official. He doesn’t like criticism of refs, but the social media complaints were pointed. And the Beavs were decidedly on the short end of the stick in most cases. Very sad.
I am an OSU Beaver but a "platypus" when it comes to every Pac-12 game EXCEPT the annual Platypus (formerly Civil War) game. It can't only be me that feels hurt when they see Travis Dye in a Trojan uniform? Betrayal is to strong a sentiment, but it just doesn't seem right.
Skip Rochefort
Oregon State University
Stanford seems really bad. Are they bad? Meanwhile, Arizona seems vastly improved on offense. But when a Justin Wilcox Cal team drops 49 on you, your defense is suspect. (Yes, Jadyn Ott is a star in the making, but still.)
Stanford is really bad. Have been for the past three years. Their recruiting is improving but David Shaw is going to have a real hard time getting back to where he was. Injuries and the transfer portal have decimated the program. I don't think a coaching change would help. The school just isn't oriented toward football.
Shaw may be entering a burnout phase as he has been there for a long time. Sort of like what happened to Jeff Tedford at Cal. He started developing some health issues and the team APR started falling and the team regressed on the field.
Officiating aside it is nice to see this Oregon team coming together and seemingly improving from week to week as opposed to the former guy’s teams. If that trend continues they will be more than ready for that dicey November stretch.
Nice start for UW, but not sold after four wins against weak teams at home (see MSU 35-7 loss at home to Minn.). Curious to see what they do on the road against a semi-decent UCLA team (and a mostly empty Rose Bowl).
When hasn't Pac-12 officiating been inconsistent and occasionally horrific? Seriously.
I really am not a conspiracy guy but it appears that the Pac12 officials are doing what they can to make the Pac relevant. We, Pac12, need relevant teams and they want UO and USC. Problem is they can not play and win without intervention. Love the Beavs Defense.