I was trying to get over my frustrated belief that refs clearly favored SEC Vandy over us with several calls that influenced the outcome. Then, the always favored Tarheels take a KO return to the house with a hold called on the play. The replay showed an absolute tackle of a block at their 30 yard line. But, since the TD got the Tarheels back in the game, amazingly, the head ref simply announces, “There was no holding on the play.” So, a ref sees a hold, calls a hold, and gets talked out of it.
NCAA football and basketball refereeing and rules enforcement is filled with bias. The deck is stacked against some and favors others. My son and his young adult friends say that is why they favor the NFL now and pay much less attention to college sports. The pros are not with bias toward major markets. But, overall they realize their product needs a relatively level playing field. The NCAA on the other hand knows their bread is buttered by networks who prefer two conferences and a handful of brands to succeed.