The SEC has suspended the officials that made some horrendous calls that favored Florida in their victory over Arkansas last Saturday.

From SI.com:

Referee Marc Curles’ crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.

The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn’t have been called.

“A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews,” SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Wednesday. “I believe our officiating program is the best in the country. However, there are times when these actions must be taken.”

SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom said this is the first time the league has publicly suspended a football crew like this.
Good for the SEC. Those were brutal calls that affected the outcome of the game. The penalties gave the Gators excellent field position and the momentum needed for them to score and steal a win from the Razorbacks.

Granted, this won’t give Arkansas the win and Florida the loss, but hopefully the sack-less BCS voters are paying attention. The Gators should probably have one loss right now, making Alabama the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation.

Here’s video of the horrible calls:

One would have thought that Tim Tebow and Florida learned from their loss to Ole Miss last year to never take an opponent for granted. Maybe that wasn’t the case on Saturday, but it sure seemed like it.

The Gators are extremely lucky to still be undefeated and when the BCS releases its standings for the first time on October 20, Florida will be extremely lucky if they’re still ranked No. 1.

The word “lucky” might not sit well with some Gator fans, but most teams that play as bad as Florida did in its 23-20 win over Arkansas on Saturday usually don’t win. The Gators turned the ball over four times, benefited from two Razorback missed field goals and had no answer for backup running back Dennis Johnson, who broke so many tackles the stats people will need a calculator to add them all up.

Tebow was good – damn good. He threw for 255 yards on 17 of 26 passing with one touchdown and also added 60 rushing yards on 24 carries. But the key in this game wasn’t Tebow – it was that Arkansas didn’t capitalize on Florida’s mistakes. For all intents and purposes, it was a game they probably should have won.

But “should have” and “did” are two different things. Bobby Petrino’s squad didn’t win and that’s the bottom line. They could have shocked the college football world by beating the No. 1 team in the nation but in the end they choked. That said, this is one of the most dangerous unranked teams in the nation, which they’ve proved over the past two weeks by routing Auburn and hanging with Florida.

Back the Gators. If Alabama comes out and absolutely crushes South Carolina, does the Crimson Tide deserve to be No. 1? Alabama hasn’t suffered one setback this year – not one. I realize Florida still won today, but the Gamecocks are ranked and would therefore prove to be a more worthy opponent than Arkansas.

If ‘Bama produces a rout tonight, Nick Saban’s squad has an argument that it deserves to be No. 1. Tonight should be interesting.

Here are previews of some of the big games in Week 7 in college football, as well as the point spread odds for all the top 25 games.

Wednesday, October 14
No. 5 Boise State at Tulsa, 8:00PM ET
Pundits will use this game as a test to see where the Broncos are. The Oregon team that Boise beat in the opening week of the season isn’t the same one that has terrorized opponents of late. Therefore, some are questioning the legitimacy of the Broncos’ ranking with wins over Miami of Ohio, Fresno State, Bowling Green and UC Davis. A convincing win over 4-1 Tulsa should help subdue the criticisms.

Thursday, October 15
No. 8 Cincinnati at No. 21 South Florida, 7:30PM ET
The Bearcats lead the nation in sacks and tackles for loss, while also ranking third in scoring offense. But they’ve been met with plenty of skepticism about whether or not they’re really a top 10 team. The Bulls’ offensive line has been fantastic so far this season and if they can protect quarterback B.J. Daniels, then USF has a great shot at pulling off the upset and shooting up the rankings.

Saturday, October 17
Arkansas at No. 1 Florida, 3:30PM ET
The Razorbacks certainly turned some heads last week in their rout over Auburn, but they’ll face a different challenge altogether this Saturday in the Swamp. Florida has the best defense in the nation, led by an outstanding front four that manhandled LSU last week. It’ll be interesting to see how Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett copes with the immense pressure he’ll face this Saturday, although if the Razorbacks don’t turn the ball over they could have a shot to keep things close considering Florida lacks explosion offensively.

No. 22 South Carolina at No. 2 Alabama, 7:45PM ET
The Crimson Tide have one of the most complete teams in college football, although the offense settled for too many field goals last week against Ole Miss. Greg McElroy and company will get a stiff test against a South Carolina defense that might keep things close this Saturday. That said, nobody should be surprised if ‘Bama produces another blow out win considering the Gamecocks struggled last week with a below average Kentucky team.

No. 20 Oklahoma at No. 3 Texas, 12:00PM ET
The Sooners are too good to be ranked No. 20, especially now that Sam Bradford is back. Bradford didn’t look sharp last week in a win over Baylor, which was his first game back since suffering a shoulder injury in Week 1. But his receivers didn’t do him any favors with the amount of drops they had. OU will face a Texas team that will attack the middle of the field with Colt McCoy and the passing game, as well as try and generate a fierce pass rush against Bradford. The Longhorns are playing incredibly well defensively and could give the OU quarterback fits.

No. Virginia Tech at No. 19 Georgia Tech, 6:00PM ET
VA Tech’s offense is clicking on all cylinders right now and nobody outside of Alabama is playing better football than the Hokies. The VA Tech defense will get a unique challenge this week from a Yellow Jackets’ offense that is seemingly unstoppable at the moment. A win over the Hokies and nobody will be questioning the legitimacy of Georgia Tech. But if they get stomped, then it’ll be hard for the Jackets to move up in the rankings the rest of the season.

No. 6 USC at No. 25 Notre Dame, 3:30PM ET
USC still lacks that explosive firepower on offense, which is a bit concerning because Notre Dame has proven that it can score at will. What happens if this game turns into a shootout? Can Matt Barkley and company keep up? On the flip side, the Trojans’ defense has been outstanding and have held opponents to only nine points the past two games. It will be highly entertaining watching Jimmy Clausen and ND’s high-powered offense take on USC’s stingy defense. If this game is close in the end, Charlie Weis’ team has proven countless times this season that it can mount a fourth quarter comeback.

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