What the **** is going on?

I spent the day flipping between baseball and college football, along with unloading hundreds of pumpkins from an 18-wheeler. I end the day wondering if this will be my last college football related post of the 2006 season. It almost seems worthless to watch college football anymore, it's a joke. From Pete Carroll and his #3 USC Trojans sneaking WR Steve Smith in from the sidelines on a fake FG (similar to a play Oregon used in a bowl game against OU last year) to Arkansas having a player hide behind the line of scrimmage on a running play against #2 Auburn. I was rooting against USC and for Arkansas, but I thought both the plays were bush league. Those types of plays should be outlawed. It's akin to breaking the huddle with 12 guys and running someone off the field.

Then, in the Red River Shootout, OU TE Joe Jon Finley was called for offensive pass interference on a big first down catch. How was it pass interference? I thought the ball had to be in the air when contact was made for it to be pass interference. That definitely wasn't the case. It seems like Finley should be allowed to push the defender before the pass is in the air because it was right near the line of scrimmage where tight ends often are blocking. What on Earth was the flag for?

Then, in the second half, Texas took the lead on a TD pass to Texas WR Sweed. Sweed pushed off of OU CB Wolfe. Wolfe was running stride for stride with Sweed, then all of a sudden, there was space in between the players. Wow, it coincided with the time when Sweed put his hand on Wolfe's shoulder and gave him a little shove. THAT is pass interference! Those were big plays.

Then, trailing 21-10, OU QB Paul Thompson threw a swing pass to Adrian Peterson that Peterson wasn't able to handle. A Texas defender picked up the incompletion and ran it in for the final points (aside from the subsequent PAT) of the game. You can't score on an incomplete pass! I know, but apparently the refs weren't able to figure out that it was a forward pass and not a lateral. Way to go zebras! OU made some mistakes, but it would be nice to have a big game where there aren't egregious officiating errors to point to afterwards that definitely affect the outcome.

Speaking of crappy officiating, let's move back out to the left coast and the UW-USC game. Why wasn't time added to the clock? The clock should have been stopped with 4 or 5 seconds to move the chains, not 2. There was plenty of time for a Husky attempt to beat the Trojans. Then, inexplicably, it took them way too long to spot the ball and wind the clock. Then, time expired before Washington could get off another play. What? I have no idea what the clock person and officials were doing. I don't know if Pete Carroll has them in his pocket or if they are just inept, but it looks more and more like both are probably true the more USC games I watch.

Which leaves me wondering: why watch college football? It's pretty much a big money-making, athlete exploiting joke on so many levels that it really isn't funny. Maybe I'll spend next Saturday painting the trim on my house, out on the lake with my waverunner, or taking down wallpaper. Anyone have any other ideas for ways I can productively use my Saturday?