While I agree fanbases all think everyone is conspiring against them, there is real evidence for ACC bias for FSU since 03. Esp. with the playoffs on the line. And not just the Swindle. Our 2012 game vs FSU was almost as bad as the Swindle. The ACC refs did all they could to rig the game against us. HOWEVER- they took it too far on a call in the late 3rd quarter. A PI actually committed by an FSU player but called against us. Even the ABC crew doing the game called them out. And after the quarter break, the bias evaporated, and we won going away. I think someone above the refs (like the ACC office) probably talked to them during the break and told them to knock it off. They didn't want a Swindle 2 and all the bad publicity. And if it happened twice, it would look even worse. Like they were truly corrupt, and not just honest officiating errors. So it has happened since 03, but not in a while. HOWEVER- FSU and UF haven't played a competitive gave with playoff implications since 2012.
It's good to have a healthy dose of skepticism against any accusation against officiating; it's also worth recognizing that people are more obsessed with money today than ever before. The value of the games are not increasing at a rate that matches the cost of viewing the games (in-person for sure, maybe get some debate on online/TV viewing). It would be naïve to think that individuals or even organizations are never willing to compromise the perception of integrity for the sake of money. There will be a lot of eyes on our game, the ACCCG, the SECCG, and some others, I'm sure. Have to hope that we work towards winning above and beyond the possibility of close calls not going our way (I mean, a good attitude to have anyway). Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
Because: 1) Everyone is aware of The Swindle, and will be watching. 2) The officials are very aware of this. 3) Replay angles are far more sophisticated than before. 4) Review procedures, while hardly perfect, greatly enhance the equity of the calls. We haven't had a Swindle since...well...The Swindle. We've had many other opponents who had much on the line, and it never was that bad, to include: 1) Alabama. Will anyone EVER call a holding penalty against them, particularly at B-D? 2) Auburn: Legendary home-cooking at J-H. 3) Tennessee: Nothing nearly as bad as The Robbery at Rocky Top in 2004. 4) SECCG: Particularly against Alabama 5) MNC games: You think ANYONE wanted Florida to kill Tressel's dream season (outside Ann Arbor)? Nah, you worry too much. There will be bad calls, of course, but six game-changing calls, ALL against Florida? That made national news.
Doesn't matter. Those calls in 2003 were blatant. The announcers were also calling out those bad plays. This Saturday, we will get some bad calls going against us, but the Noles will also get bad calls against them. I cannot imagine another Swindle. Too much history today, too much technology, too many more sophisticated cameras. It's sort of like history. After WWII, all the history that was discussed was the Allied version without the bad news stories. In the decades that followed, the things we learned based on declassification, societal mores, new information from other sources, revisionism (both good and bad) all pieced together, reveals a history quite a bit different from the flag-waving stories which came out of Churchill's history, or the official history released by the Center of Military History. We know more today, and because of that knowledge, we are more aware of what may happen tomorrow...
The reason I bring it up is that Miami got a safety on them early in the game, went to replay and it was called not a safety. Blatant as all get out. The replay should go somewhere else not in the stadium.
And this is my point: it should be damn near impossible to screw up a call after replay - yet they do it all the time. The Swindle made news because those crooked refs had to screw us literally the entire game to get the outcome they wanted. We’re not as good a team as we were back in ‘03 — it won’t require 4 quarters of bad calls to take us out of the game like it did in ‘03. One or two momentum killers (like the double screwing we got early in Jax this year) can greatly impact the outcome of the game, particularly when we’re 5-6 and they’re undefeated and top 5. Way too many excuses are made for these crooked bastards. There’s still no accountability. Jack Childress finished out his career when he should have been drummed out of the league 20 f*#king years ago. Step outta line, the man come and take you away (depending upon which team you’re playing for)
I was at that 2003 game and as I recall, the first bad call was on the opening kickoff. I started yelling that the ACC refs were horrible. There was an FSU fan sitting just below me. He turned around and yelled back at me that I didn't know what I was talking about. I repeated my yelling after the second, third, and fourth bad call. When the fifth bad call happened, the FSU fan turned around and pulled out a small bottle of Jack Daniels from his pocket. He handed it to me and yelled: "You guys are getting screwed!". Everyone around us just laughed.
Somebody on these boards posted penalty statistics a few years ago for the prior 20 years of FSU/UF games and what they found was penalty yardage in the 10 games reffed by SEC officials was virtually dead even on penalty count and yardage (expected statistically) and FSU even had a slight 50 yard advantage on yardage. Penalties in the last 10 games reffed by the ACC officials was something a 75/25 ratio in FSU's favor. Im not sure how somebody could statistically explain that comparison away other than bias. Im sure we have a statistician in these forums who could try but for the rest of us we can explain it by just saying the ACC is corrupt. Id love to present a stat like that to our AD and say you need to do something other than patronize these clowns. It is total BS.
If it’s blatant cheating from the ACC refs, I would hope the Playoff Committee will take that into account and leave them out.
Most important is the timing and importance of the calls. Bama gets "evened out" by a few procedure calls after the game has been decided. First drive of the game holding calls can change alot!
Good memory! I brought up the 2012 game which IMO was heading for a Swindle 2 type game before the ACC refs finally stopped in the 4th quarter. The penalty yards in that game were interesting... Florida 12 penalties for 101 yards Florida State 3 penalties for 20 yards. (the 3rd penalty was called with 15 seconds left and the game long decided.) This was an FSU team who was toward the bottom of the nation in penalties. Isn't that astonishing that this much penalized team could go almost penalty free the entire game, while playing their hated rival in a tight game? Meanwhile we were called for 12! penalties- many of them major. And at the worst times. To those who think the ACC will call a fair game- the evidence suggests otherwise. Not with FSU the ACC's only hope to make a 4 team playoff. 1997 says hello, 2003 says hello, and 2012 says hello.
The SWAC getting to the playoff is worth millions of dollars to the employer of the officials of the game. Their only chance to get to the playoff is to beat Florida soundly to prove that they don't need their first-string quarterback. In a perfect world, the officials will not be swayed by these factors. In a perfect world.
