SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

During the 2017 football season, eventual National Champion Alabama made the trip to Starkville to take on a Mississippi State team that many felt had a real chance to beat the #2 ranked Crimson Tide.

Coach Dan Mullen's Bulldogs were 7-2 and winners of four straight. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald had the Mississippi State offense rolling. In recent weeks, State had blasted Kentucky 45-7 at home and knocked off the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field by a score of 35-14. In that battle of the Maroons, Mississippi State looked and played like the much better team.

Heading into their date with Alabama, State had experience, State had home field advantage and perhaps more importantly, the Bulldogs had confidence.

61, 344 fans would pack out Davis Wade Stadium as the Crimson Tide was officially on upset alert. The Southeastern Conference would assign the game to veteran SEC official Ken Williamson's crew.

The Bulldogs would find some success running the football and managing the pace of the game. Mullen had devised a game plan to keep his offense on the field and the Crimson Tide's explosive offense, led by Jalen Hurts, on the sideline.

State would score on two of their first three drives with junior running back Aeris Williams making a pair of trips to pay dirt sending cowbell clangs deep into the November night. While the outcome was still to be decided, it was clear that the Bulldogs came to play. Alabama had a real fight on their hands as expected.

Trailing 14-7, Alabama would take possession of the ball at their own 25 with 10:39 to go in the first half. During that drive, Hurts would connect with wide receiver Calvin Ridley on a 61-yard pass that took the ball down to the Mississippi State one yard line.

During the play, side judge Rob Skelton would throw his hat on the Bulldog sideline signifying that Ridley had stepped out of bounds prior to catching the pass. By rule, Ridley was guilty of an illegal touching infraction. The talented pass catcher had run out of bounds of his own accord as Hurts had scrambled to avoid the Mississippi State pass rush.

Skelton would conference with Williamson, the crew chief, just a few feet from me. Skelton would go on to say that he "had a force out on the Alabama wide receiver". Video replays would clearly show that Ridley was not forced out of bounds by anything other than his momentum. The play would stand and a play later Alabama would tie the game on a 1-yard touchdown run from Josh Jacobs.

The teams would trade leads in the second half with Alabama finding a way in the final minutes to escape with a seven point win, 31-24. One wonders what might have been had Skelton made the correct call back in the second quarter.

If the name Rob Skelton sounds familiar to long time fans of SEC football, it is likely for good reason. Rob is the son of former Alabama quarterback Bobby Skelton who eventually became a football official. The elder Skelton officiated two college football National Championships and Super Bowl XXIII. Rob simply followed in his father's footsteps and found a home calling SEC games as a side judge.

Due to his connections with Alabama through his father and family, some fans may take issue with Skelton officiating games that involve the Crimson Tide. The league appears to have no issues with Skelton putting on a striped shirt, grabbing a yellow flag and making the big calls.

In a 2011 interview with Jon Solomon of AL.Com, SEC Coordinator of Officials Steve Shaw offered some assurances that the league would go out of their way to avoid any perceived conflicts of interests when it came to officials who may have connections with SEC member institutions.

Shaw is on record saying, "If there is any perceived conflict, we're just going to avoid it."

The son of a former Crimson Tide player has likely yelled "Roll Tide" a time or two in his life. That is an assumption that most people would likely find reasonable. Skelton himself attended Jacksonville State, which gets him around the SEC policy regarding officials calling games that involve their alma mater.

According to SEC Associate Commissioner of Communications Herb Vincent, the league's policy regarding officiating conflicts of interest is as followed:

"No SEC football official will officiate a game involving a university if the official:

• is a graduate of or attended the university.

• played with or for the head coach of the university.

• has a spouse or child who is employed by or attends the university, for the period of time the spouse or child is employed by or attends the institution.

• has any personal business association with the university or is personally a contributor to the university."

To put it bluntly, there is no rule against Skelton or the descendants of any SEC player in any sport that prohibits them from officiating an athletic contest involving any team in the Southeastern Conference. Maybe there should be.

When asked what if any feedback Skelton was provided by the league following the blown call involving Ridley, the SEC office declined to provide any comments regarding that play or any other.

A quick review of the box scores available to the public shows that Skelton has officiated at least six Alabama football games in the past three seasons. Mississippi State fans should be somewhat familiar with Skelton. He has been a part of the officiating crew for three of the last four meetings between Alabama and Mississippi State, (2015, 2017 and 2018).

Yes, you read that correctly. Despite being involved in what appears to have been a blown call that led to an Alabama touchdown in 2017, Skelton was back on the Tuscaloosa sidelines earlier this month when controversy erupted again involving officiating in the Alabama game against Mississippi State.

On Alabama's first drive, Crimson Tide running back Damien Harris fumbled the football. Mississippi State defensive end Gerri Green would pounce on the ball giving the Bulldogs a huge play and some early momentum. Just as the team began to celebrate the huge play, officials ruled Harris down by contact.

Replays would clearly show that the ball was out prior to Harris' knee touching the ground. Despite clear video evidence, the replay official David Almand elected not to conduct an extended replay. Like all other officials, Almand is not available to the media, so no explanation was provided. When asked why the play was not reviewed, the SEC provided no comment.

The SEC control center in Birmingham was established to prevent such in stadium failures, but the entire system broke down. The on the field officials blew the call, the replay official elected not to review the play and the control center did not intervene. No matter how well intended all of those individuals may be, the lack of a review is a sign of complete and utter incompetence.

Human error is part of the game, but when there are systems put in place to reduce the probability of those errors they must be followed. Despite all of the safeguards by the league, the Mississippi State players and coaches did not get a fair shake on what could have been a game changing play.

To make matters worse, the Bulldogs would mount a drive just before halftime driving deep into Alabama territory. On 2nd and 10 from the Crimson Tide 12-yard line, Fitzgerald would check the ball down to State running back Kylin Hill who would dive for the goal line over an attempted tackle from Alabama defensive back Shyheim Carter.

Field judge Jeff Batts would flag Bulldog wide out Deddrick Thomas for a block in the back nullifying the score. Replays would clearly show that Thomas did not impede or impact Carter's path to Hill, but was flagged nonetheless.

The Bulldog points came off of the board and then a comedy of errors ensued. An incomplete pass would follow on second down, a delay of the game penalty would prevent another sure score, a third down sack backed the Bulldogs up and a missed field goal would end the half.

Batts' decision to penalize State for a rules infraction not within his clear line of sight remains a bone of contention for Bulldog fans. Fans around the SEC as well as members of the national media have all but alleged a conspiracy.

3,024 fans responded to an informal social media poll that asked if some football officials knowingly made calls that were favorable to Alabama. 89% of those voters said yes.

Calls like the ones that took place in Tuscaloosa in the game between Alabama and Mississippi State only feed these conspiracy theories. The fact of the matter is that Alabama does not need help from the officials to win football games. This season, the Tide has rarely been tested. It is important to remember that this is not an Alabama issue. It is an SEC issue.

The league has a responsibility to protect Alabama just like every other member school. I submit that having the sons of football alums calling Crimson Tide football games falls short of protecting the SEC's top football program. In fact, it opens Nick Saban's team to undeserved scrutiny. Alabama gets no say in who officiates their games. The best way to protect Alabama and the integrity of the league is to ensure that every team that takes the field gets a fair shot.

I believe that the overwhelming majority of officials want to simply get the calls right and not have their names associated with any controversy involving the games they supervise. I suspect most college football fans had never heard of Jeff Batts before his poor call against Mississippi State. Batts has likely made hundreds of calls perfectly, but he will be remembered for one that he appears to have anticipated on a Saturday afternoon game before a national television audience.

When asked for an explanation of the call, the SEC office declined to provide any specific comment about the play, the failure to review the fumble or any accountability for the officials who failed in their duty to ensure fair play.

"During the football season, the SEC reviews officiating in every game in which SEC officials participate," Vincent shared. "The SEC office communicates with head coaches the results of those reviews as well as athletics directors when requested. The accountability and actions involved in our officiating program are handled internally and not communicated externally. We also expect that communication between the SEC office and its member institutions related to officiating will remain private. Because of the confidential nature of this process, accountability measures sometimes only become evident to the public over the course of time."

Despite Vincent's comments regarding external communication, there is precedent within league history regarding public reprimand for officials from the SEC office in Birmingham. Following a controversial call involving Arkansas and then #1 Florida in 2009, then commissioner Mike Slive issued a statement announcing the suspension of long time official Marc Curles and his entire officiating crew.

"A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews," SEC commissioner Mike Slive shared. "I believe our officiating program is the best in the country; however, there are times when these actions must be taken. While only a few calls have been identified, the entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play. I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program. Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation."

Curles, who still officiates within the league, served a two week suspension along with his crew following Slive's public censure.

While the league has remained mum on the issues that took place in the Mississippi State game, the SEC has not been silent on other incidents involving officiating. Following Mississippi State's game against LSU, the SEC issued a statement providing some clarification regarding a targeting call against Tiger linebacker Devin White.

"By rule, no player shall target and make forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent," the statement read. "The QB on the play was defenseless at the time of the contact. By rule, all targeting calls are reviewed. The call was reviewed and confirmed."

The merits of that call can certainly be debated, but at the very least Tiger fans got a statement from the league. Mississippi State folks have not been afforded that luxury.

Over the course of the weekend, Ole Miss wide receiver A.J. Brown made what appeared to be a touchdown catch in overtime against Vanderbilt. Video replays would only confuse the matter. Ole Miss coaches, fans and players contend that Brown did posses the ball and complete the catch. Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said in post game that he was not completely sure his team did not intercept the pass. Commodore defensive back Randall Haynie ended up with the ball at the end of the play.

Opinions about the play vary, but replay officials ruled the pass incomplete. Following the game, SEC Network host Dari Nowkhah read a text message that he attributed to Steve Shaw. It appears that Shaw was attempting to provide an explanation for why the call went against the Rebels.

“If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching pass, he must maintain complete and continuous control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground," Nowkhah shared.

In the end, Vanderbilt got the courtesy of a review that changed the game and both teams received a public explanation from the SEC. Mississippi State was denied both.

At the end of the day, SEC protocols must apply to all teams. To have a hot and cold approach when it comes to communication only feeds the paranoia of fans who believe the fix is often in. While I am not one that subscribes to such theories, the league can beat a lot of that rhetoric back by being more transparent.

"The SEC supports a comprehensive football officiating program with a focus on four primary areas: recruitment, education and training, scheduling, and evaluation and accountability," Vincent shared. "The education and training area of the program involves mandatory annual clinics, rules quizzes, tests and instruction, and weekly in-season video training among other developmental elements. The program is managed by SEC Coordinator of Officials Steve Shaw who reports to the SEC Commissioner. Updates on the officiating program are regularly provided to the SEC Athletics Directors at their meetings throughout the year."

The SEC has a chance to be a leader on these issues. Better communication with the ticket buying public should be a priority. Above all, fans want to know that the games they attend will be officiated by individuals without connections to the opposition.

There should be legislation within the conference that makes all penalties that nullify touchdowns reviewable by replay officials and the SEC control center to prevent any possibility of impropriety. The main goal of every official should be to get the call correct. When there is video evidence that shows a game is being impacted by an erroneous call, there must be a process in place to change it.

Last weekend, there were eleven games in which at least one of the participants was an SEC program. Based on the box scores available, Jeff Batts, he of block in the back flag fame, did not officiate any of those games. Batts was initially listed as the field judge for Auburn's home game against Liberty. In the final box score, Charles Green was shown as having held down that responsibility. Make of that what you will.

It is my hope and belief that the SEC has handed out a measure of accountability and sent a message to officials to see what you call and call what you see. The Southeastern Conference is the greatest athletics league in all of college sports. SEC fans are among the most passionate in the country. Their commitment to the league and to their favorite programs must be met if not exceeded by the SEC's commitment to guarantee that officiating failures on the field and in the replay booth are not repeated.