The Texas Longhorns won’t have to deal with Big 12 or SEC officials in the first two rounds of the college football playoff. Longhorns fans don’t have great feelings about either conference’s official these days.
Instead, Texas will get refs from the Big Ten in the first round playoff matchup with the Clemson Tigers and (if Texas advances) in the Peach Bowl CFP Quarterfinal in Atlanta against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Longhorns fans have bad memories about Big 12 refs feeling they were unfair towards UT after the announcement the program was moving to the SEC. Especially in the final season.
As for the SEC, it has been an up and down first season in the conference, but the SEC Championship Game seemed to have “uneven” officiating. Even Steve Sarkisian blasted the fairness of the officials his halftime walk-off interview when asked about the multitude of holding penalties called against Texas, “Well, hopefully they call them for a hold one of these times too.”
Obviously, it is unclear whether any biases, conscious or unconscious, were involved in either group. The Big Ten should at least be neutral. But that doesn’t mean everyone loves Big Ten refs.
Penn State fans were not happy with the officiating in the Big Ten Championship game against Oregon. Either way, it will be a change to have an officiating crew that doesn’t seem to have a dog in the fight.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Big Ten refs to officiate Texas Football in first two rounds of CFB Playoffs
