JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen spent much of Saturday night and Sunday morning reviewing a blown call, and asked for disciplinary action against the Southeastern Conference replay official who worked the Bulldogs’ 29-19 loss to Florida.
Mullen said it’s understandable if a field official makes a mistake because of the speed of the game, but the replay official can take his time and should be held accountable.
“I don’t even know why we have replay right now in the Southeastern Conference if they’re not going to utilize it,” Mullen said Sunday.
“That’s twice now that they’ve blown calls on the replay with our games, resulting in big plays, and I think that’s unexcuable for that official. I hope he’s severely punished if he ever works another SEC game again, because I think it’s completely unacceptable.”
Messages left with the SEC were not immediately returned Sunday, and it was unclear who handled duties in the replay booth Saturday in Starkville.
Linebacker Dustin Doe scored a touchdown after returning an interception in the fourth quarter, putting the Gators up 29-13. Replays appeared to show Brandon McRae stripped the ball from the celebrating linebacker short of the goal line.
The touchdown was Florida’s second in 33 seconds, sealing the win.
Mullen said it was the second time a replay official has cost his team this season. He was referring to a penalty called against Mississippi State in a loss to Houston that looked as if the play would have been overturned had it been reviewed.
The coach and his staff watched film of Saturday’s play after the game, then Mullen later watched the replay “all night” on television.
“There’s no excuse for a guy who has the amount of time to replay the video to make sure they get the call right,” Mullen said. “That’s why we have instant replay and I think it’s embarrassing that they blew that call. I’ve seen still shots of the ball out of his hand. I don’t think that’s acceptable on a guy that has the ability to watch all the different angles.”
Quality of officiating has been a topic of debate this year in the SEC. Commissioner Mike Slive suspended a crew last week after two unsportsmanlike conduct calls in the Arkanas-Florida and LSU-Georgia games that league officials said should not have been called.
It was the first time the league publicly suspended an officiating crew. The group won’t return to duty till Nov. 14 and bowl assignments could be affected.
Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino was reprimanded by the SEC for his comments about those officials after the Razorbacks’ 23-20 loss at Florida. Mullen, who also complained about the consistency of calls made on kickoffs, is likely to be reprimanded as well.
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