I'm sure most of you caught the game last night. How about Bob Stoops second guessing the officials during the first half ! When a sideline warning was given early I was suprised to see if given to LSU. What did LSU do to earn a warning? Most of the camera time was on the Oklahoma sideline and I always keep the volumn turned down when I watch football.( most commentators annoy me) I thought the officials did a great job however I saw the wing pulling Stoops back off the field. Could he have flagged Stoops or do you need to issue the warning first? I know coaches and players are caught up in the excitement of the game but when a coach is on the field screaming bulls&*! I believe a flag is warrented.

I saw this part and I was suprised to see a sideline warning, I too saw them pulling the coach off the field and I was aslo wondering what the warning was for. I don't think it was really explained.

The warning on the LSU sideline was because there were personnel in the restricted area, between the sideline and the coaching line, while the ball was live.

As for Stoops being on the field, I'm sure the crew would have exercised the same leniency if it had been Saban.

Really, we're talking about two different issues here.

I would be curious to know everyone's opinion on the 2 issues mentioned above from this angle:

1. Sideline warning - I've never seen this on an NCAA televised game. Have you? Was this necessary? Should the flank official have done something else to manage the sideline?

2. Pulling the coach off the field - Should the official have grabbed the coach and pulled him off the field? Should the R have done anything different to help the flank official?

3. also, did anyone see one of the flanks continuing the dialogue with the Oklahoma coach. College mechanics in our neck of the woods require the two deep guys on the sideline (FJ & SJ) to have primary communication responsibility with the coaches so that the flanks can be relieved from the ongoing discussions and concentrate on the plays.

Thoughts, ideas, opinions...

I'll comment on the sideline warning. It was the second one I saw during the week. I can't remember which game had the first one.

Was it perhaps the All American Bowl, TXMike?

Also, we don't know that the wing official hadn't been trying to talk them back. He may very well have had enough.

I thought Stoops acted like an a$$ most of the night. Did anyone see the halftime interview where he "corrected" the reporter who claimed LSU had the #1 defense?

I wonder exactly what it takes for a Division 1-A head coach to get a flag these days. Would he have to get out beyond the hashmarks? Would he have to pull down his pants on the field?

Rich

True, it seems to be more difficult for a D1 football coach to draw a flag than it is a D1 basketball coach to get whacked. That's saying something.

As someone said somewhere else, I think the sideline warning was for having unauthorized people in the coaches box. It is the first one I've seen in a while, but I've also seen one or two in the NFL in the past couple of years. My guess is that the flank DID try other things first and had to resort to the sideline warning. Or MAYBE it was emphasized to keep it under control. I don't think we will really know the answer.


2. Pulling the coach off the field - Should the official have grabbed the coach and pulled him off the field? Should the R have done anything different to help the flank official?

First, does anyone recall who was he yelling at? I think that makes a difference. As a referee, I think the ONLY thing he might have done is walk over to the sideline (and I mean to the team box) and the coach would likely follow him to continue the discussion. Problem with this is that once it happens once, a coach expects it a lot more and the other team may feel like the Referee is being worked.

In my humble opinion, I think the flank official was trying to do everything in his power to keep from needing to flag Stoops. Maybe pulling him back was a little too touchy. On the other hand, Stoops seemed to go willingly and it prevented a flag. Personally, I thought a flag was more appropriate. But I think flagging a coach is almost taboo in college football (especially in THE biggest game of the year).



3. also, did anyone see one of the flanks continuing the dialogue with the Oklahoma coach. College mechanics in our neck of the woods require the two deep guys on the sideline (FJ & SJ) to have primary communication responsibility with the coaches so that the flanks can be relieved from the ongoing discussions and concentrate on the plays.

I'd be interested in hearing more opinions on this as well.

Good questions JMN.

REPLY: Mike, I respectfully disagree with the idea of the R going over to Stoops. Maybe--and only <u>maybe</u>--during a break in the action where the network is in a TV timeout, but never ever stopping the clock or delaying the ready to do so. The one problem you cite is certainly valid. The other is that if Stoops has a "rule" issue, he has a mechanism at his disposal to speak with the R, i.e. a head coach's conference, similar to the Fed's coach-referee conference. If his issue is with an official's judgement, I would never disrupt the game flow to discuss that with a coach near his sideline. It sets a very dangerous precedent. The worse thing you can show a coach is that his improper behavior results in his getting what he wants--in this case an opportunity to speak his mind to the R. Just my opinion...

Bob,

I don't think we disagree at all. What I meant to get across was that the referee had that option, but it certainly wasn't a <B>good</B> option because of the reasons we have both explained.

REPLY: I can't imagine us disagreeing on anything, Mike! <img src=http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk/smilie/wavey.gif>