Pursuits

Better Referees: Why College Football Needs to Herd Its Own Zebras

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly yells at officials after what could have been a game-winning touchdown is called back in the closing moments against Florida State in Tallahassee on Oct. 18Photograph by Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT via Getty Images

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By Bryan Gruley

October 24, 2014 at 4:56 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

College football fans: It’s time to put an end to the Zebra Conspiracy.

Maybe you thought, as I did, that Notre Dame got robbed last weekend against defending champion Florida State. Or maybe not. Either way, the controversy begs for the NCAA to create an independent body of referees who aren’t beholden to a particular conference or team. This is hardly as important as other NCAA problems, like the University of North Carolina’s phony classes. But there’s simply too much money and prestige at stake for a single blown call to keep a team out of the new four-team national championship playoff.