this ref thing may actually work to our favor this weekend.....

[STATEgrad04]

with all of the talk about how bad the refs are going to screw us this weekend, i would like to offer a different view on it....

in several games recently the refs had made bad call after bad call, and slive has come to the rescue everytime....first fining coaches and then threatening suspensions to keep the bad mouthing of the refs down. If there is such a thing as a conspiracy to get alabama vs florida in the sec champ game then it has already happened....they made the calls to get them there and now they are. through all of this the officiating in the sec has gotten a horrible rap, and now that the darlings of the sec are in the big game the league can now "level the playing field" as far as the calls are concerned....they can now start making calls that go in favor of the other teams and be able to point towards this at the seasons end and say that they were balanced througout the year. Im not saying there is a conspiracy and im not saying im looking for this to happen, but this would be a way for the league officials to save face frome all the heat they have been getting.
You have to think that slive has at least had some talks with the refs and this is a perfect to "right the ship" as far as the officiating is concerned. Im not saying that we should get calls that arent the right ones, all im saying is that i think they will be trying as hard as ever to make the right calls for whichever team is questioning a call. I just dont think they will be out to screw us now that they have bama in the championship game.

 

[Cohendawg]

You think they're going to undo all their hard work making sure that Florida and Bama remain undefeated to discredit a conspiracy theory? Think again.</p>

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

but Bama and Fla. will still be protected. this year... a hold here, a pass interference there.

Eventually they will have to let go of the instant replay stuff.

 

[patdog]

But you've got to know that the SEC and the SEC officials are aware of the tremendous criticism they're under right now. In the long term, this will be good for the quality of officiating in the SEC.

 

[woodrowmarsh]

Nope. Just getting Bama and Florida to the SEC title game isn't enough. They must assure that both are undefeated if at all possible so that winner gets the BCS title game and the $7 million plus that goes with that and the loser gets the Sugar Bowl and the $7 million plus that goes with that. I don't necessarily think it was a Bama-Florida conspiracy per se, just that they were the last 2 unbeatens. After all, LSU got the break at Georgia. That was before their loss to Florida.

 

[Hotel Roosevelt]

Alabama and Florida necessarily. If the top two teams had been LSU and Georgia the same would have happened for them. Maybe one day, or just in my wildest dreams, it will happen for State. If there is a conspiracy, it's not to get Bammer and the Jorts to the championship game, but to turn the SEC Championship into a defacto national championship game. #1 and #2, both undefeated, playing only to determine which goes to which BCS bowl. The conference wants the money.

If Bammer got beat by us, then Auburn, then Florida, they could say goodbye to the Sugar Bowl and the conference just lost millions of dollars. They'll keep protecting the cash cows, no matter who they are: unfortunately, it's almost always going to be one of six teams in the SEC.

And every game for a month people, sometimes MSU fans, sometimes not, have been hoping for this exact situation. That the refs hold back because of the criticism being sent their way. It hasn't happened yet, even under the biggest lights, and I don't expect it to happen now. Certainly not while the refs still have something to play for.

 

[jackbaddawg]

Bet the farm on that.

 

[Todd4State]

I would say would be in favor of your theory being correct is the fact that I think the SEC wants Florida and Tim Tebow to go undefeated and win the NC. And since we're not playing UF, if there's going to be a "make-up" game, it would be Bama vs. us or Auburn.

That said, I'm sure the SEC is thinking- "Gee, wouldn't it be awesome for us if UF was #1 and Bama was #2 and we had them playing in the SEC Championship Game. The ratings would be through the roof!"

The only other thing that would support your theory is that the SEC Championship Game will be highly rated because even if Bama lost to MSU or Auburn, the match-up would still be better than Texas vs whoever in the Big 12 Championship Game and GT I guess vs whoever in the ACC Championship Game.

If we beat Bama, we're going to have to legitimately kick their ***. And I mean kick their *** like we did in 2006. Because if it's close, the officials will do something to pull it out for them.

 

[thedog]

Alabama,even if it loses out will get the Sugar as it is guaranteed to the SEC. The only other possibilty would be LSU, which is doubtful. Florida would be in NC Game. At this point any undefeated SEC champion guarantees 2 BCS participants for the SEC </p>

 

[Hotel Roosevelt]

I was thinking of '98 when we lost to UT and thus were sent to the Cotton Bowl, but since then, there have been some changes (such as the addition of a fifth BCS game for the national championship).

Point remaining, there are still reasons for the conference to want two undefeated division winners. In their mind, they can't afford make up calls.

 

[patdog]

If Bama loses out and Florida plays in the national title game, the Sugar Bowl gets an at-large selection. They're free to use that selection to pick Bama or LSU, but they can just as well use it to pick Southern Cal or somebody like that.

 

[VegasDawg13]

Alabama and Florida necessarily. If the top two teams had been LSU and Georgia the same would have happened for them. Maybe one day, or just in my wildest dreams, it will happen for State. If there is a conspiracy, it's not to get Bammer and the Jorts to the championship game, but to turn the SEC Championship into a defacto national championship game. #1 and #2, both undefeated, playing only to determine which goes to which BCS bowl. The conference wants the money.

If Bammer got beat by us, then Auburn, then Florida, they could say goodbye to the Sugar Bowl and the conference just lost millions of dollars. They'll keep protecting the cash cows, no matter who they are: unfortunately, it's almost always going to be one of six teams in the SEC.

And every game for a month people, sometimes MSU fans, sometimes not, have been hoping for this exact situation. That the refs hold back because of the criticism being sent their way. It hasn't happened yet, even under the biggest lights, and I don't expect it to happen now. Certainly not while the refs still have something to play for.

While it makes sense to say that the refs will be careful to appear unbiased towards Bama and Florida considering the controversy surrounding them, that's been true ever since the Florida - Arkansas game. That didn't stop us from getting screwed against Florida and it didn't stop LSU from getting screwed against Bama. And I would argue the LSU screw job was the worst yet. There's no reason to think they'll have a make up game now; I think they've proven that there isn't one coming.

 

[maroonmania]

in the title game and 2 SEC teams in the BCS. The fact that it happens to be FL and AL this year is just circumstancial. Just worked out that they are the top 2 this year. The SEC is now a money ***** and if you want to know what's going on, as they always say, follow the money. You can be guaranteed that EVERY close call is going to continue to go in favor of FL and AL both on the field and in the replay booth.

 

[dickiedawg]

Could you format your posts in the future?

 

[STATEgrad04]

im not trying to say that the refs will make bad calls in favor of alabama, im just saying that with all of the horrible hype the refs are getting, that they may actually call a game straight up instead of "in favor" of the darling teams.

with slive having to come out and first suspend some refs, then having to repremand several coaches, then having to fine urban, and now having to threaten suspenions on top of all of this, i just cant help but think that they may just start making sure they make the "correct" call instead of the favoring call.

im also not saying that i want state to get unfair calls that go in our favor, im just saying that i would like for the game to be called legit and for me to not have to walk out of the stadium wondering "what if" because of a key bad call. and i think you will start to see games being officiated this was......maybe just wishful thinking.

 

[GloryDawg]

That's the fack Jack!