Game 7: Indiana State Sycamores

[tony]

Am I the only one that cringes a bit at the comments about women refs?

I just roll me eyes... I mean, if the He Man Woman Haters Club doesn't want woman refs, why don't they pull on their big boy pants and become refs themselves? Is the whole "gotta be able to run 200 yards in a single day" thing holding them back?

[Mr Meaty]

I would think most of the male refs have played the game at some level and that alone would help with judgement calls. No problem with female refs but if they are there strictly for quota reasons and not performance well...bigly against that.

They all get graded after each game. I would assume the conference downgrades any single ref or crew for poor games. Now for what happens after that, I am not sure. Is there more film work for them to do to get back onto the field? Are they not assigned anymore games or moved down to a lesser level of play? But in the end, there are not enough people willing to officiate any types of sports at high school, college or possibly even in pro sports. This has been and will continue to be an issue.

[IndyBison]

They all get graded after each game. I would assume the conference downgrades any single ref or crew for poor games. Now for what happens after that, I am not sure. Is there more film work for them to do to get back onto the field? Are they not assigned anymore games or moved down to a lesser level of play? But in the end, there are not enough people willing to officiate any types of sports at high school, college or possibly even in pro sports. This has been and will continue to be an issue.

This is a correct assessment. At the MVFC level, they are graded on each play resulting in a grade for the game. The supervisors and position coaches track that throughout the season. In some cases, an official can be pulled from an assignment depending on the situation. Over the course of the season, if they have too many downgrades, they may not be retained. They won't necessarily be demoted. They will be let go and then they'll have to find a new place to work. I'm not aware of anyone who was let go who was brought back to that league. It would have to be a unique situation for them to come back. A change of supervisor for exams.

Regarding other questions about their ability relative to other officials. That's a very subjective question. There are many factors in how conferences choose to hire their staff. There is a large pool of qualified D2 officials who would love to move to FCS so there is not a shortage issue here. The MVFC, MAC, and B1G are part of a consortium for officials called the COC. You are generally hired into the COC in the MVFC and then move up from there. The conference changes recently have affected that. There could be a D2 official in a conference out west that gets hired into the MVFC or possibly a Big Sky official into the MAC or a MWC official hired into the B1G. Let's just say there are 4 spots open in the MVFC one year. There are potentially 100 qualified officials they could be considering. The gap from the top to the bottom isn't going to be huge and again that's subjective. There are many other factors that get considered. Former player (NFL or college), underrepresented (primarily black or female), personal connections (family members), age (not too old or young), fitness (no fat officials), and personal recommendations. Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time. You were available at the last minute to help with a Tuesday morning scrimmage at Purdue, and the D2 conference supervisor (who also happens to be a MAC referee) happens to be working. You show up early, act professional, get along well with the crew, and make some solid calls and suddenly you are high on his radar.

The women you are asking about may have gotten there a little quicker than other guys. But they are still qualified. And if they struggle, they'll get additional coaching just like anyone else. If they continue to struggle, they'll be dropped. But that can happen to a number of people. A good friend of mine used to play fur the Colts. In his mid-30s after retiring he decided to get into officiating. I coached him in one of his first times ever on the field in a high school scrimmage. I helped him get onto his high school crew. The next spring, he was working D1 scrimmages, and i helped him there as well. He was a sponge and loved it! The summer before his third year, he was hired by the MVFC, and he had never worked a college varsity game. That's not right, but he had a unique background. He was assigned to a crew led by one of our local referees. He worked hard and listened well. I'm sure he had some struggles but overall did well. Unfortunately, the following year, his knees started to fail, and he had to retire. He misses it but enjoyed his quick run. He did get to work a couple games in the Fargodome.

Many of the people I work with in D3/NAIA would be fine to move on to the FCS staff. But for a variety of reasons, they aren't one of the lucky ones chosen. I've known many guys from my conference who have moved on and through the MVFC. Some are as high as the B1G and NFL now. I was too old and too heavy to really get a chance. I did get a sniff at the OVC, but nothing ever came of it. It was an honor to be considered. With all the crap going on with D1, I'm not upset about working D3 and NAIA. It's all about football and student athletes at that level. The local NAIA teams are often ranked in the top 10 nationally so the level is really good. I've worked scrimmages and practices at IU, Purdue, Notre Dame, Louisville and several MAC schools. My D3 game on Sunday had 2 of the better teams in our conference with coaches who have been in the league as long as me (15+ years). Home team homecoming that had a lively tailgate scene we have to walk through from our locker room to the stadium. Home team took a 34-14 lead with 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter (they just missed an extra point due to a bad snap). Visitors then scored 21 points in the last 6 minutes to win 35-34. It was an intense and exciting football on a sunny Saturday afternoon. This week is another homecoming game at the #1 team in the conference. The school has 900 students and is on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. One of their alumni is Woody Harrelson whose college roommate was Mike Pence. They will have a great crowd for D3 as well. I love what I do!

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[Professor Chaos]

This might get ugly for the Sycamore defense....

NDSU is 6th best in the FCS scoring 44.5 points per game - Indiana St is 4th worst in the FCS allowing 41.3 points per game
NDSU is 5th best in the FCS with 501.3 yards of total offense per game - Indiana St is 6th worst in the FCS allowing 487.2 yards per game
NDSU is 6th best in the FCS with 235.3 rush yards per game - Indiana St is 7th worst in the FCS allowing 241.7 rush yards per game
NDSU is 9th best in the FCS in a 33:00 average time of possession - Indiana St is dead last in the FCS with an average time of possession of 24:32

[southcliffbison]

Question about the women refs.....
Are they on the field because they are the best available referees? Or are they merely tokens filling quotas? I am willing to bet that there are better qualified refs at the DII level that would love those positions but are passed by for the sake of DEI. If so, this is actually discrimination and hopefully someone pushes that issue.

DEI......without question!!!! This is a remnant of the Viverito regime. Did they move up in the ranks of officials, working high school or lower level college ball.......juco or naia......first; with 10 to 20 years of experience under their belts? Or, did they answer an advertisement in some newspaper requesting applicants for MV football crews? The ad reading: The MVFC is looking for applicants to work MVFC games (gender restrictions will apply). Applicants must have worked at least 2 years of junior football; any level above junior football is a plus. Credit will be given to those who actually played competitive football. Training available, but must have some rudimentary knowledge of football such as the length of the field, the shape of the ball, and how many points are scored for a touchdown. Equipment suchs as pants, shirts, shoes, whistles, flags, and caps are the responsibility of the applicant. Basically, swingin' dicks need not apply.

[Bison2024]

Anyways......back to the game.

The Bison will probably sleepwalk through the 1st half and get caught looking ahead a week (I would like to be wrong).

They wake up at halftime and pull away handily, 52-17.

[heffray]

Anyways......back to the game.

The Bison will probably sleepwalk through the 1st half and get caught looking ahead a week (I would like to be wrong).

They wake up at halftime and pull away handily, 52-17.

You’re not the first person who thinks this but I disagree. I haven’t seen anything from the Sycs to suggest they can hang with NDSU for a quarter in any of the 3 phases.

It’s going to be a massive spread (maybe 30+) and the only reason we don’t cover is because our 2nd string starts the second half.

[TAILG8R]

You’re not the first person who thinks this but I disagree. I haven’t seen anything from the Sycs to suggest they can hang with NDSU for a quarter in any of the 3 phases.

It’s going to be a massive spread (maybe 30+) and the only reason we don’t cover is because our 2nd string starts the second half.

Hayes +/- TDs (passing and rushing) should be set at 2.5

[SDbison]

I just roll me eyes... I mean, if the He Man Woman Haters Club doesn't want woman refs, why don't they pull on their big boy pants and become refs themselves? Is the whole "gotta be able to run 200 yards in a single day" thing holding them back?

Why don't you pussies just STFU?

[SDbison]

DEI......without question!!!! This is a remnant of the Viverito regime. Did they move up in the ranks of officials, working high school or lower level college ball.......juco or naia......first; with 10 to 20 years of experience under their belts? Or, did they answer an advertisement in some newspaper requesting applicants for MV football crews? The ad reading: The MVFC is looking for applicants to work MVFC games (gender restrictions will apply). Applicants must have worked at least 2 years of junior football; any level above junior football is a plus. Credit will be given to those who actually played competitive football. Training available, but must have some rudimentary knowledge of football such as the length of the field, the shape of the ball, and how many points are scored for a touchdown. Equipment suchs as pants, shirts, shoes, whistles, flags, and caps are the responsibility of the applicant. Basically, swingin' dicks need not apply.

Yep don't try to tell the DEI advocates anything. They think merit isn't a proper thing to judge when hiring or promoting. Hope they do the same for their own business (of course they wouldn't have the balls to do so).