Good thing we haven’t been shooting in the foot with penalties lately. In fact, some may say that their theories of “the refs favor Georgia” may have a point, based on this infographic.
Or, you know, they could be disciplined.
Also not surprised that Alabama is at the bottom of that list, but that makes me guilty of the same assumption I made above.
The national champion teams were quite famous for aggression penalties.
Is the “Other” category the same as “Playing while Georgia”?
Surprised to see Bama that low. Recently they’ve been undisciplined but maybe DeBoer has gotten his message across. I just hope they fold like a lawn chair when we get to Tuscaloosa.
Not surprised to see Texas at the top.
I read this and thought to myself, “Self, I wonder if anyone has ever used AI to analyze game footage and see if there is bias is the refs’ calls.” So I asked AI and it pointed me to a study out of Miami University (The Mu, not The U). The actual study can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303326028_Referee_Analytics_Bias_in_Major_College_Football_Officiating.
TLDR: They analyzed over 38,000 individual foul observations across a decade of major college football data and found
– Refs are 10% less likely to through discretionary flags against “proteccted flagships”
– Favoritism towards elite, winning-tradition teams was most pronounced among Big Ten officiating crews
– ACC refs displayed a significant bias toward the underdog team according to the Vegas betting line during in-conference play
– ACC and Big 12 demonstrated statistically significant home-field officiating bias (fewer flags on the home team), while the SEC and Big Ten actually stayed relatively neutral on strict home-versus-away discrepancy
– Officiating bias increases the more the seats are filled. During COVID when there were no crowds, referee-dependent home-team advantages plummeted by 40% to 45%
Then a statistician at Bama stepped in to analyze claims of bias from fans (https://culverhouse.ua.edu/news/2025/10/numbers-dont-lie-refs-arent-out-to-get-your-team/). This is Bama, so take it for what it’s worth.
– When fans perceive that elite teams are never called for holding, he says those teams recruit elite athletes. Their superior technique, faster footwork, and better positioning naturally result in fewer technical fouls.
– Claims that B1G refs are incompetent can be attributed to the refs historically letting players play.
– Claims that every 50-50 replay review goes to the favorite aren’t true. It’s just that fans only remember the game-altering missed calls that benefit elite teams.
I could be wrong, but I remember that one of Saban’s early champion teams at Bama went through an entire season without an offensive holding penalty. The penalty that happens ON NEARLY EVERY PLAY. Oy!
I don’t believe this, because it infers that referees actually call holding penalties.
I would be interested to see the numbers from the Penn Wagers era.
Sort of makes sense. B1G do appear to “let them play” more resulting in fewer big penalties. ACC and B12 have less talented players/coaching staffs so poor technique results in more penalties called. Refs probably do look away a little on overmatched teams and want to keep the game moving. SEC is so talented and tough officiating is hard. Personally knew two of the best (head refs in NC games) and the truth from them is there is no time for bias. Size and speed of the players make it hard to keep up. CFB needs to go to professionals who are full time, paid well and trained alike. Just crazy the known differences in officiating crews aren’t addressed.
P.S. My guys confirmed that Wagers was a dick, not the best but would not concede he had a bias, just an ego.