The old saying goes, “Hey ref, get your eyes checked!” Well, now they have their chance.
Fayetteville-based McDonald Eye Associates is taking it upon itself to make sure Arkansas doesn’t have any more questionable officiating. The company said in a release Tuesday it will offer free laser vision surgery to any on-field or replay booth official from Saturday’s Arkansas-Auburn game. The Razorbacks lost 65-43, but a pair of questionable Auburn touchdowns have had Arkansas fans up in arms.
The first was a Mario Fannin touchdown in the second quarter in which it appeared the Tigers running back lost the ball before crossing the goal line. Arkansas recovered the ball on the play, which was initially signaled a fumble, but overturned to a touchdown on the field. The replay booth upheld the play.
The second was a fourth quarter Broderick Green fumble that Auburn returned for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 51-43 lead. On the play it appeared Green was down by contact, but once again inconclusive video evidence upheld the call on the field.
UA athletics director Jeff Long said in a release Monday the school had petitioned the SEC about the calls.
“The officiating of the game has come under much scrutiny among Arkansas fans because of two controversial calls that went against the Razorbacks,” the McDonald release said. “Both plays directly led to Auburn touchdowns.
“Errors and incorrect calls from the game could have possibly been avoided with better vision. McDonald Eye Associates believes that a laser vision correction procedure will result in fewer mistakes in the future.”
For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.
37 Comments
Trackbacks
- SEC CFB Contest *Week 7* - Page 3 - The Bar Discussion
- Arkansas Eye Doctors Offering Free Lasik Procedures to SEC Officials | The Last Angry Fan
- Daily Dump: ARod Spotted With 31-Yr-Old Yoga Instructor, Tony Reali’s Hair Gel FAIL, Auburn Mascot Admiring This Ass, Brady Throws Hissy GIF, Greg Norman Engaged, Alice Eve Wet-T Caps & Johanna Lundback’s Glorious Body « Busted Cover
- Friends of the Program - SEC Officials Can Get Free Eye Exams
No mention of the Hogs’ phantom fourth down conversion or garbage PI call on Mallett’s last throw?
Hmmmm…
Those were questionable calls, but did not lead directly to TD’s
So you take away those 14 points and Auburn still wins by 8 points. Now please stop crying!
There is no guarntee that the game would have gone either way had the officials gotten those calls correct, which they did not. Telling Razorback fans to stop crying over piss-poor officiating would be like try to tell Auburn fans to stop crying if the same thing happens to them vs. Alabama. Those officials should be suspended just like the refs from the 2009 Florida game.
You know ZSSAD I have heard that from Auburn fans all week about
still beating us by 8 pts. I guess you do not believe that just maybe the flow of the game would have been different. Did you graduate from Auburn? Sure sounds like you did.
To “Win” up there, we do not consider you a rival, so don’t say, “[telling] Auburn fans to stop crying if the same thing happens to them vs. Alabama.” We consider Alabama a rival, not you. You lost, you can’t do anything about it. Either way we would’ve beat you.
WDE
No one will ever know if those two calls would have changed anything..but only a blind person or an Auburn fan out of touch with reality couldnt see the obvious. That being said, lets see how the rest of the season plays out..I wouldnt be crowing too much about the win as our 2nd team QB torched your defense for 4 touchdowns..a backup no less…cant change the score so lets get ready for ole miss and let auburn get ready for LSU.
Until the SEC office starts releasing public data about its grading of the officials, there is always going to be the stench of foul play given that the refs (and not the players) are the center of attention.
Personally, I believe it is time for the NCAA to control the officiating and not the league offices. By having a larger pool to draw from you can have a developmental program that gives you a better chance of having quality officials in place for big games. You also don’t get the crap that happened to Oklahoma when Pac-10 officials hosed them in an interconference game with Oregon a few years back.
AUTigers2121,
You don’t have to consider us rivals if you don’t want–that’s your right as a fan, but that doesn’t change the fact that since joining the conference, we have beat you guys as much as you have beat us. This past Saturday marked the first time your kittens have beaten us since 2007. Your holier than thou attitude is why I find your fanbase to be the most loathsome in the conference. You act like your team is somehow on the level with Alabama. Well, let me tell you this. If Alabama had been undefeated in 2004, I guarantee you they would have played for the National Championship, as would LSU, Florida. What does THAT tell you about your program? You are actually closer to our level than you are Alabama’s. Dream on about that national championship this season, because that’s all it is. I see two losses on your schedule when you get to a team that can actually play defense.
Pillsbury, they most certainly led directly to TD’s. The phantom PI gave you 1st and goal from the 1, you scored on the next play. The ridiculous spot gave you a first down, instead of the ball going over to Auburn on downs, and you scored on the next play. You might want to add in the phantom holding on Ziemba that nullified a 30 yard completion for Auburn to the Arky 40, and the absolutely abominal roughing the passer call on Auburn on an incomplete 3rd and long for Arky. I agree they missed the Fannin fumble call, but the officiating was terrible on both sides, enough that neither can blame them for the outcome.
And by the way, AUTIGERS2121, some of your brethren were on this very site bitching about officiating after we thumped you last year. So until you can control the whining of your own fanbase, I suggest you troll somewhere else. Me personally, I think our loss on Saturday had more to do with poor special teams play and shoddy tackling than officiating. Though I think the Fannin call was horrendous, we ended up with the lead in fourth quarter, so it wasn’t hurting that much. The Green call could have been avoided had he held on to the ball and removed all doubt.
pvtmm,
Where you watching the game on television? If so, you should have noticed that the “yellow line” (which is unofficial) was a good half yard past the first down marker. Thus, when the official spotted the ball, it looked well short. However, if you look at where he spotted it in relation to the sticks, it looked fairly accurate. To me, that play was on the level of Brod Green’s fumble (which I didn’t find conclusive) one way or the other.
The biggest issue I had with the Fanin TD was that the officials on the field all behaved as if that was fumble. Not one official (even the line judge) signaled touchdown. Then the head ref says the official ruling on the field was a touchdown, which wasn’t the case. The burden of proof should have been on Fanin getting the ball across because if he did, then my classes in basic physics were all lying.
Wow, Aubie fans acting like Bama fans of old. Seriously, Aubies are usually more honest than that…………………….
Autigers, Your analogy is amusing. First, as alluded to earlier, given the history and results, I’m not so sure that Auburn [be it tiggers or war birds] would be considered an Arkansas rival. Second, I have no problem dropping a game, as long as it is fair and square. Finally, from reading various message boards, I wonder if Alabama truly considers Auburn to be a so-called rival – you guys are certainly no where near an equal.
I am continually amused at Auburn fans complaining about the PI call when Mallett was hurt. It was indeed a stretch to call PI, but the replay clearly showed that there was defensive holding or defensive illegal contact more than 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Either of those would also be an automatic first down. And the official was throwing his flag as soon as he saw the contact, so at least he didn’t hesitate in his thought process. Also, the hit on Mallett was clearly a personal foul. Anyone with half an ounce of objectivity (for those of you in Alabama, that means that you look at a situation without taking sides based on emotion) could see that the Auburn player could have just pulled Mallett down from behind. Instead, he pulled him down and threw himself on top of Mallett with excessive force. If an Arkansas player had done that to Newton, I would also agree that it should be a personal foul (and you can bet that the officials would have called it that way in that instance). The QB is supposed to be protected, and they are usually over-protected in my opinion. This time, the referee just watched an over-the-top tackle take place and did nothing.
pvtmm,
You don’t understand the meaning of the word “directly”.
BTW I’m not crying. Your team won. We should have played better D and special teams. That being said, there’s no excuse for that level of officiating in the SEC.
Congratulations on your victory.
When someone puts a bounty on Newton’s head like Cheez-*ik did on Mallet’s, Auburn goes down in heap of stuff. That is the problem with one dimensional teams. Cut off the head, it’s a quick death. Auburn loses two or three more! Mark in down, it’s gonna happen. And I’m pretty sure it starts next week!
And WDE or go tigers or Aubie rules or roll tide or whatever you say! Are you the eagles or tigers or what?
Disagree–I think Malzahn rather than Chizik put the bounty on Mallett!
BTW, my Gator-grad hubby says Auburn has revised the history on Cam. The Gators kicked him off the team fkr being a klepto.
Sandra,
Of course they revised his history; he’s their problem child now. All is forgiven as long as you win. I’m afraid that would be the case with many fan bases. If Auburn starts losing and Newton plays badly, there will be whispers.
I firmly believe that “the hat” will beat Auburn this weekend, then Alabama will beat them in the Iron Bowl. Those teams are much more balanced defensively than anything they have faced. Plus, they have the size and the speed to tackle Newton. We had the speed, but not the size. Plus, their defensive coordinators make better in-game adjustments than Big Willie Style. Many will wonder if LSU’s offense can generate anything, but Auburn’s defense stinks about as badly as ours.
Its the same thing that happened last year at Florida. If Arkansas had been undefeated and ranked in the top ten, we would have got those calls, and whatever other calls were needed to keep us that way. This is worse than simple “bad” officiating, its blatant corruption, with clear monetary motives. Aubie fans dont believe it? Wait till its your turn to get hosed.
The conspiracy theories about the refs are getting a little ridiculous. Obviously there were some bad calls in this game, but in no way are they the reason we lost or part of some grand scheme to keep the hogs a mediocre team in the SEC. Bottom line is we have to play better to win those types of games. You cannot give up 65 points in a game and expect or deserve to win. Like someone above said, the Green call doesn’t matter if he just holds on to the football. If the goal line fumble that was ruled a touchdown was at the end of the game to give Auburn a victory by 2 or 3 I can understand people saying we got hosed. But when you still lose by 14 after leading in the 4th quarter, that’s on us. So hog fans stop whining, that doesn’t gain us any respect in the league. Hopefully the coaches have been able to keep the players from thinking the refs cost us that game or we could be in big trouble this next weekend against Ole Miss.
SouthernHog,
Thanks for being a voice of reason.
Those refs dont need eye surgery,they need the NCAA and FBI stareing them down every saturday.
I agree. Their eyes are just fine. It’s what league officials are telling them to call in favor of potential undefeated BCS teams from the SEC that bothers me.
This is 2 years in a row now. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…I don’t think so.
right your are Gonzo.
Hey Auburn fans, you didn’t win the national title in 2004. Your undefeated season means squat. Never talk about it again, or I’ll call you all whiners. Blahhhhh
Arkansas did not get a fair shake in that game, and yes, those horrid calls DID lead directly to 14 points, minimum. It was on those plays that the points were scored. Had the correct calls have been made, one could argue for 7 less Auburn points and potentially 7 more Arkansas points each time – that’s a 28 point swing. So STFU.
It’s pretty sad when a bar full of people in Chicago are dumbfounded at how the official in the replay booth could mess them up, yet you ID10Ts in Alabama choose to ignore truth.
And we’re not a rival? We were 50/50 over the last ten years. What do you call that? We’re in the same division in the same conference… Morons.
Southern Hog, we gave up 51 points.
Hahaha, my bad. 51
To all you Arkansas fans: I will agree that Auburn got some lucky calls. I was texting with a friend during the reviews of the 2 plays in question since I was at the game and they were both fumbles. Though I want my team to win I want it to be a fairly called game.
Now for those of you saying that Auburn was favored in the game you really need to shut up. Arkansas gave up 65 points, which is ridiculous no matter what. The refs basically gave you the first TD with the phantom holding call on our 3rd down play and then the roughing the passer call during the Razorbacks’ possession. And let us not forget the blocked punt and the 99 yard kick return, shall we?
Auburn has gotten screwed with calls in three games this year: Miss State, Kentucky, and especially Clemson.
Oh, and you must honestly be completely naive if you think a bounty was taken out on Mallett. It was a clean hit by Fairley and Mallett hit the ground hard enough to take him out of the game. I think the rule changes to protect the QB have made a couple of you guys a bit too soft.
And just because someone asked this earlier: Auburn is the Tigers. War Eagle is a battle cry.
Bottom line is that 2 calls where not done properly and it is against Arkansas (granted I am a RAZORBACK FAN). Bad officiating in the SEC is rampant, please do not forget the calls against Arkansas in the Florida game. A coach cannot object to anything because he will get fined for speaking his mind which the world clearly saw as BLATANT!
It is almost as if the SEC officials have this need to punish Arkansas. And let the so called big schools Auburn/Alabama/lsu etc etc get away with anything. Thank the good lord FL is not a factor and I pray lsu/auburn alabama rots.
my mom is an eye doctor and she always tell me to never squint my eyes and watch too much dvd movie”,:
Free Lasix? That’s expensive stuff. Geez, I think I’ll but a ref uniform and walk into that place to score free Lasix. Sweet.
Thanks for sharing! these days There is so much confusion surrounding this topic and there’s a lot of different advice about good practices. Thanks for helping to clear it up somewhat. Your opinions are appreciated.
Keep Rockin!
Best,
Jonny Thanks that helps. I’ll check out those links and continue to read your blog. Good stuff, very educational.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossips and web and this is actually annoying. A good blog with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for keeping this website, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Cant find it.
Useful, towards the point and nicely written, some straightforward adjectives I’d like to use to illustrate this incredibly write-up of data.