Higgins: Coaches find SEC officials convenient target

Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who has been critical of officiating this season, has a discussion with the referee and head linesman during the Ohio University game at Neyland Stadium.

We're in trouble in the journalism business.

Because the line is blurred between journalists with college degrees and formal training, and the average blogger who knows how to type, knows how to push the spell-check button and has no problem throwing out the stupidest theories on the Internet.

Like this theory the SEC officials are doing everything in their power to ensure a battle of unbeatens in the league championship game between Florida and Alabama.

That's so ridiculous I can barely type the words. But you have some people buying into this, because fans from every SEC school truly believe officiating crews are trying to job them every week.

Granted, there have been some blown calls, such as the two celebration penalties in the LSU-Georgia game and the phantom personal-foul call against Arkansas in the Florida game. Mississippi State fans believe they got jobbed by the replay official who allowed a Florida touchdown to stand on a disputed fumble. Tennessee fans think they were overpenalized to the point that Lane Kiffin was afraid to run another play on the last possession, fearing another penalty.

Well, that's Lane's lame excuse, and he's sticking to it.

Because of all that, anyone with Internet access and an addiction to tweeting or Facebook has concluded SEC officiating is the worst in college football, that it's the worst it has ever been.

Not true. It's just more scrutinized now than ever. Every SEC game is on TV. There are camera angles everywhere and instant replay officials. Almost every SEC school has a replay board the size of a drive-in movie screen, except for Mississippi State, whose replay board is bigger than its stadium.

So immediately after a play, say a pass-interference call, that is replayed on the big board, the fan in the 55th row of the upper deck wiping mustard off his chin screams, "That's a terrible call." The fan at home in his easy chair, dipping his chip into a thick layer of nacho cheese, sputters, "You're blind, ref."

And to that I say this: Get out of your easy chair or climb down from the stands, put on a striped shirt and run down field with superbly conditioned athletes who run the 40 in 4.3 seconds. Watch them collide at full speed going for a pass. Now, make the call.

Right there, right then. No chance to wait for the replay.

Think you will get every call correct? Didn't think so.

There's never been a perfectly officiated game and never will be. Although I abhor the celebration penalty rule, officials are not trying to get the calls wrong.

It eats them up when they later see a play on tape and realize they made the wrong call.

A couple of years ago I spent a night with an NBA officiating crew at a Memphis Grizzlies game, being allowed into their dressing room before the game, at halftime and after the game. The first thing they did was go to game tape and watch close calls they made.

The crew called a great game. But ref Steve Javie was borderline distraught when he realized, after watching the tape, that he'd incorrectly called Pau Gasol for a charge.

What has bothered me the most about SEC officiating this year is some of the league's newer coaches have chosen to act like whiny kids, basically whipping their fan bases into a frenzy.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive thought he was doing the right thing when he publicly announced the suspension of the Florida-Arkansas crew, the same crew that worked LSU-Georgia. Slive wanted to show the public the league was being accountable and it wouldn't tolerate repeated mistakes.

So what happens? Coaches like Kiffin and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen suddenly think they have the leeway to publicly rip officiating. That's why Slive had to issue another edict, saying he would suspend or fine coaches, without any warnings of reprimand, if they publicly criticized officials.

Good for Slive. Just coach the game, gentlemen, and play through any questionable calls, which is what championship teams do.