Five Thoughts from the Week that was

1) There needs to be more harsh consequences for referees errors...especially those which should NEVER happen.

Who saw the Toledo/Syracuse game? No one? What about the replay that is being shown briefly then hidden? With a few minutes left in the game, Syracuse scored a TD to go up 29-27. They proceeded to MISS THE PAT!! But the official under the goalpost, the referee, AND THE REPLAY OFFICIAL ruled the extra point went through the uprights. Of course, Toledo ended up kicking a field goal to send the game into overtime which Syracuse ended up winning. Toledo is requested the game to vacated (which won't happen), but people aren't placing enough blame on the officials. Sports officials (NBA refs, MLB umps, NFL/NCAA officials) are routinely given passes for mistakes they make. It's time for this to stop. These officials are paid a lot of money to make the correct calls. Some calls a judgement calls or subjective, but those that are cut and dry and still missed need to result in severe consequences (termination in most cases). Jim Joyce cost Armando Gallaraga a perfect game due to a blown call and this weekend, the officials cost Toledo a win (which could cost them a lot down the road) because the referees were incompetent. Officials often hide behind a veneer of 98-99% success rate on calls. This is blatantly skewed. 75% of the calls in every sport are such that a 5 year old child can make them correctly (like whether or not a PAT goes through the uprights or if someone is out in baseball by 40 ft.). These officials are extremely well paid (5 figures PER GAME in some cases). To miss calls of this simplicity is not acceptable. And then to examine this on video replay and not correcting an error that a monkey wouldn't make makes the matter so much worse. I have been trained as an official in basketball and football and I agree that it is a difficult job. With that being said, these missed calls are completely inexcusable at any level. These officials should tender their resignations immediately (unless they've already been canned) and beg thee league to try to rectify their error which has cost others so dearly.

2) Teams must be constantly ready for that upset possibility.

It seems that there are simply no free lunches in college football anymore. Toledo pushes OSU to the buzzer, LA Tech forced Mississippi State to overtime, Utah State should have beaten Auburn. There are myriad examples this year alone of teams rising well above themselves to scare a powerhouse or even defeat them. Ever since App State beat Michigan in 2007, the little guy has believed. Now the big boys must always be vigilant for the scrappy team that will always threaten to derail a season. We must never forget that those little teams circle the games 4 years previous. No one remembers the Little Caesar's Bowl winner, but everyone remembers Appalachian State upsetting the Wolverines (hehehehe).

3) The Pac 12, like the Big Ten, is also very bad

Those teams that will contend for a title are few and far between this year, but it's a pretty safe bet that they won't come from the B1G or Pac 12. Yes, there are Wisconsin (played no one), Nebraska (terrible defense), Oregon (lost their only big game), and Stanford (1 player and play no one), but no one really buys these teams as legitimate contenders. The cream of the SEC (LSU and Bama), Oklahoma, and maybe Boise or Ok St. are the only contenders now. The Big Ten traditionally takes the beating for being overrated, but let's heap some of the blame on the Pac 12. USC almost (and probably should have) lost to the worst Big Ten team, Minnesota. ASU lost to a mediocre B1G Illinois. Oregon St. lost at home to Sacramento St. The Washington and Washington State's are as billed (bad). Here's an example of East Coast bias helping the reputation of the Pac12 by hiding how bad the conference is. Oregon and Stanford are pretty good, but the rest of the conference is terrible.

4) Heisman trophies are more or less decided in the preseason unless a truly special player throws his hat in the race...early.

Luck. Moore. James. Jones. There're your Heisman finalists in September and most likely in December. Yes, everyone likes to pretend that someone else has a chance, but let's be honest, it's not realistic. ESPiN tried to anoint Denard Robinson after the Notre Dame game because of the explosive runs, but that game did nothing but show me he has absolutely no chance of winning without any talent throwing the ball. He'll fall off in B1G play just like last year. Anyone else is pushed to the side by the media so the preseason contenders can compete. There are other good players, but media shows what it will to determine. Blackmon and Lattimore have a slim shot, but they need to be transcendent to enter the ring. Every once in a while, a Cam Newton comes from nowhere, but we won't get a chance to see that unless some unknown leads their team to an undefeated season.

5) There are some REALLY good teams (top 10) that no one knows about due to media undercoverage.

Quick, what was the matchup of top 10 teams last week? Most would guess LSU/WVU or Bama/Arkansas but it was Ok State/Texas A&M. If you saw the hype for this Big 12 matchup, you would probably be alone. The worldwide leader (and their SEC contract) hid this incredibly big early season matchup on the back page to highlight a good SEC team vs. a Big East contender. I truly believe that the Cowboys are one of the best teams in the country, but you'd never know with the coverage they get. We need the media to come out from behind the screen of unbiased-ness and own up to their true allegiance: $$$$. Yes, LSU and Bama are very very good teams, but there are others that are being ignored due to the sexiness of the name. Even Boise St. is a sexier name for the media due to the cinderella story that pushes teams that are better in my opinion (OkSt., TAMU, SoCarolina, Stanford, Wisconsin, etc.). The SEC isn't the only conference, althought that's what the media wants you to think.