One of the officials for the TCU game is an OSU Alum
Hopefully he doesn't job calls and pat TCU players' butts.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:42 PM ^
This just seems dumb. Not sure how flexible they can be to avoid such obvious problems, but it’s the NCAA so I expect stupid stuff like this to happen.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:52 PM ^
Thing is, even TCU fans could have a beef here. There's a decent faction of the OSU fan base routing for a rematch in the finals.
To be clear, I am not in favor of any OSU rooting interest making calls in this game. It's as dumb as you say it is. The perception of bias could cut both ways, which is maybe an even stronger reason to replace the ref.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:04 PM ^
I have a hard time believing there's any Ohio State fans who would actively be rooting for Michigan tomorrow.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:20 PM ^
Not saying a majority, but a decent faction. Most of the replies to this tweet are UM fans poking fun at Buckeye fear, but there's a good number in there saying they want a rematch.
December 31st, 2022 at 10:05 AM ^
I hope Michigan beats TCU because I want that rematch*. A second loss would be excruciating, but a national championship win over Michigan would be even more fun than beating Alabama in 2014.
(*No I don't predict Ohio State upsets Georgia, just hoping it plays out that way.)
December 30th, 2022 at 9:20 PM ^
No…most Ohio State fans do not want to see Michigan again.
December 31st, 2022 at 2:58 PM ^
Sorry .. everyone of us would want a rematch
December 30th, 2022 at 9:50 PM ^
I live in Ohio and not one buckeye fans I know has said they want a rematch
December 31st, 2022 at 3:05 PM ^
Not true
December 30th, 2022 at 9:50 PM ^
There's a decent faction of the OSU fan base claiming to be rooting for a rematch in the finals but actually hoping and praying Michigan loses.
FIFY
December 31st, 2022 at 5:35 AM ^
Nah. It goes against their DNA to want Michigan to win at anything. They may talk a good game but that’s it.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:06 PM ^
Nobody ever thought teams had their own booster running clocks until Spartan Bob reared his ugly head.
This is 101 type shit. How this is not a vetted process is beyond me.
December 31st, 2022 at 7:13 AM ^
The SEC has a published conflict of interest policy. This is not considered a conflict per the policy.
https://www.secsports.com/article/27493561/sec-conflict-interest-policy
December 30th, 2022 at 8:42 PM ^
Why wouldn’t they just replace him? The goal should be zero appearance of even the possibility of corrupt officiating. Silly.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:59 PM ^
I because the answer you'd get is because these crews work together, have chemistry, and there is value in having a group with familiarity.
I have no idea if that's true, but I suppose it would make sense.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:09 PM ^
Then assign the crew to a different bowl. Not hard.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:26 PM ^
I don't know if you want a B team calling a CFP game because one ref is an alum of a rival of one of the teams playing. That seems like overkill.
I'm not making an argument for keeping him. I'd just replace him...these are pros, I'm not worried about chemistry for one ref.
December 30th, 2022 at 10:44 PM ^
They are not pros! That's been the major problem with college officiating for decades and is something we all want changed with the TV money in the game today. They get a fee for the game and travel expenses, that's it. They have a daily job to go back to on Tuesday, just like the rest of us.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:49 PM ^
I have no idea how accurate this information is.
But, uh....
"the salaries of College Football Referees in the US range from $11,753 to $314,406 , with a median salary of $57,014"
That's not a "part-time job", that's a scam.
And if you know anything about reffing you know it's a giant good-ole-boys club.
December 31st, 2022 at 12:43 AM ^
Va, I completely agree. The officials are NOT pros, and there’s enough money for full time officials.
December 31st, 2022 at 7:25 AM ^
I have real trouble accepting that B1G officials are pros.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:10 PM ^
Head ref in Motor City Bowl from some conference further west missed his plane, so they called in a local B1G ref to sub - absolutely no issues. If you can replace a head ref at the last minute with no issues, seems like could replace any ref especially with a little lead time. That is, ref crew synergy seems like bs.
December 31st, 2022 at 5:37 AM ^
Yeah they’ve got extras on site in case a ref goes down from health or injury. This isn’t hard for the NCAA. Look for many phantom PI calls on offense and defense.
December 30th, 2022 at 10:27 PM ^
Chemistry? Teamwork? Do your job. They are not picking up each other's hankies. They are not turning double plays or playing pitch and catch. Their roles are defined and they don't run plays and very few situations call for switching responsibility. Officials overrule each other because there are usually 2 or 3 with eyes on the play.
Send him somewhere else. (Maybe) How about if he grew up in Ohio or a Big 10 state? Does that disqualify him? The official scores as a better than an average official for the last 20 years then he/she is probably ok. The officials that MGoBloggers detest are bad on a weekly basis and are particularly bad when officiating Michigan games.
December 31st, 2022 at 7:02 AM ^
This is true during the regular season, but typically not true in the bowls. The top bowls are typically comprised of the highest-graded officials at each position combined to make an “all-star” crew. The Buckeye must have been evaluated as the best center judge of the SEC this year.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:43 PM ^
I just don’t see why this is necessary with all the possible college refs out there. Why even entertain the possibility of controversy, real or imagined?
December 30th, 2022 at 10:00 PM ^
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
December 31st, 2022 at 12:45 AM ^
Is this the unbiased official who will be part of the crew?
December 31st, 2022 at 1:27 AM ^
It is not, thankfully. Hopefully Kevin Schwarzel is resting up after probably blowing several calls as the back judge in the Norte Dame Figthings/USC (not that USC) game today.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:43 PM ^
Really is amazing the NCAA can not avoid something so simple to avoid. I get these guys have probably been deemed to be one of the better crews but I do not want a OSU alum doing any UM game period.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:06 PM ^
One of the cronies from the 2016 game officiated M/OSU in 2021.
Does anyone else remember the board's collective meltdown over that? Hopefully it won’t matter.
I think Haskins just scored again.
December 31st, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^
Eh, but he probably shouldn't have been. After the 2016 debacle, they no longer get the benefit of the doubt. And thankfully, Michigan made sure that the officials had significantly less impact on the 2021 game.
I like to think I could be a decent ref, but I root against Ohio State in pretty much every game I watch. So, it probably wouldn't be wise to have me officiate one of their games, no matter how hard I was trying to be unbiased...
December 30th, 2022 at 8:44 PM ^
Hopefully he's professional and understands while we hate each other we respect each other's teams. If it was msu I'd be more inclined to tell him to fuck off.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:50 PM ^
It's dumb but I don't think this game is gonna be close enough for an official to impact it too bad. TCU has been running their mouths all week. It's over for them.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:50 PM ^
Agree
December 31st, 2022 at 12:46 AM ^
Blue, I hope you are correct. However, if you see phantom PI’s.. well, that can change things in a hurry.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:55 PM ^
Well just make this a blowout so he can’t possibly have an effect on the game.
December 30th, 2022 at 8:56 PM ^
He’s going to be officiating the center so if our offensive line all of the sudden gets key holding calls on big plays then you’ll know exactly why that is.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:15 PM ^
Or misses egregious holds on TCU but then again that is par for the course in every game UM plays for the most part.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:33 PM ^
That could be key because pressure with our front is one way to keep them from running their offense effectively.
December 31st, 2022 at 8:26 AM ^
This is every game
December 30th, 2022 at 9:01 PM ^
Made it past Dominos pizza delivery fuckhole. Congrats doosher.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:03 PM ^
I doubt he's going to risk his livelihood here. He's on that field tomorrow night because he's one of the best in his field.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:31 PM ^
Then you don’t know FIFA…err, the NCAA.
December 30th, 2022 at 9:37 PM ^
Oh, you're adorable.
December 30th, 2022 at 10:49 PM ^
Livelihood? LOL!!! You really think these guys are paid a salary and do nothing but officiate college games? LMAO!!! No sir, they have daily jobs just like we do.
December 30th, 2022 at 11:12 PM ^
Jim Kemerling was an MSU grad and Big Ten official.
He told my friend’s Dad, they were close college friends at MSU, flat out he would always call a fair game to the best of his abilities but if it was a 50/50 call it would always go against Michigan regardless of the opponent.
Teams work to hard and deserve better.
December 31st, 2022 at 12:32 AM ^
Yeah, seriously. Sometimes the conspiracy talk here gets out of hand. I honestly don't care if he's even a TCU grad. Most adults don't make the results of football games life-or-death things, and most adults are able to separate their commitment to their jobs to some weird sense of obligation to their alma mater.
Everyone commenting on this post is apparently admitting they're not able to separate the two, but ... I have no doubt a trained, vetted, and dedicated official can.
If you prove to me he bets on games or something, fine. Or even that he has a demonstrated history of bias, fine.
But this guilt-by-association stuff if nonsense.
December 31st, 2022 at 7:45 AM ^
So, because he is supposedly trained, vetted and dedicated. That somehow makes him honest and ethical?
December 31st, 2022 at 10:46 AM ^
Not trying to fan flames, but the demonstrated history of bias occurred in the 2016 Ohio State game. It's been demonstrated.