FanHouse

With the advent of high-level television productions in college football, it's awfully easy to be an armchair ref these days. Heck, even the absence of such luxuries doesn't stop fans from pretending to be experts; just go to any football game where the referee has to do anything at all ever and watch the crowd for proof.

So CBS's Dennis Dodd, on a whim, got a hold of the NCAA's official, um, Official Exam. It's 100 questions, none of them obvious, and most of them downright ruthless. Dodd scored a 46.

You can download a PDF version of the test or take an online version.

But Dodd's just a journalist, which is somewhere lower than "blogger" and higher than "poodle" in terms of intellect. Certainly Blogfrica's preeminent authority on all things pigskin, Sunday Morning Quarterback, would do far better, yes? No, not really. 55.

Naturally, I couldn't resist the temptation. How hard can it be, right?

Um, right?

Examples, scores, and more after the jump.

Now, the particularly evil aspect of the test is that questions are multiple choice, usually with two or three answers (sometimes four). So while you're slogging through and scarcely answering half right, keep this in mind: officials aren't afforded that luxury, much less an unlimited amount of time, during gameplay. This is easy to them.

Anyway, onto the results. I, a football geek and veteran of literally thousands of NCAA Football games, also scored a 55. Again, out of 100. Keep in mind, though, that those numbers certainly don't indicate that I knew half the questions (WARNING: Dork math to follow. Poke around somewhere else on Fanhouse if you want more childish humor. Like here!). With the rate of success at 38.833% (I counted.), 45 wrong answers equates to roughly 74 guesses. So I knew about a quarter of the questions, not 55. Football genius over here, folks!

Go on, take the test. Unless you've intimately studied the NCAA rule book (indeed, incorrect answers aren't so much explained as just cited), you'll suffer. Want proof? Here are four random selections from the quiz:

30. Team B intercepts a legal forward pass and scores a touchdown. Prior to the change of team possession, Team A is flagged for a chop block. Time expires in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd quarter during the down.
A. Team B may elect to have the 15-yard penalty for the personal foul enforced on the try or the succeeding kickoff, including the 2nd half kickoff. The period is extended for the try but not the succeeding kickoff.
B. The penalty is declined by rule.
C. If Team A opts for the penalty on the succeeding kickoff, the quarter will be extended for one un-timed down.

79. A's ball 4th & 16 on A's 44. Team B defensive end blocks the kick and roughs the kicker. The kick does not cross the neutral zone. Team B defensive tackle bats the ball forward from A's 32 where the defensive end picks up the ball on A's 26 and advances to A's 20 where he pitches the ball forward to a teammate who advances across the Team A goal line.
A. A 1st & 10 @ B41
B. A 4th & 1 @ B41
C. B 1st & 10 @ A25

81. 2nd & 14 @ A's 28. Team A right guard commits a false start. Team B nose guard reacts and commits a personal foul when he slams the right guard to the ground. Team A is lined up in an illegal formation.
A. Offsetting dead ball fouls; 2nd & 14 @ A's 28.
B. A 1st & 10 @ A38

94. Free kick @ K's 30. While the untouched free kick is rolling on K's 38, a Team K player blocks his opponent above the waist at A's 42. At the same time and while the ball is on A's 38, a receiving team player blocks the kicker above the waist on K's 37. Team K recovers the untouched kick on K's 42.
A. K 1st and 10 @ K's 42.
B. R 1st and 10 @ K's 42.
C. R 1st and 10 @ K's 37; tack on foul.
D. K rekicks from K's 25.

Ye gods.

Dodd makes the point that the veritable impossibility of the quiz proves that refereeing is difficult (you think?) and that fans ought to take that into consideration next time they complain about a blown call. Which, fine, I guess, but you never see the crowd up in arms because the ref blew it on "4th Team A is in a scrimmage kick formation. Team A player #32, an exception to the mandatory numbering rule, lines up inside Team A end #82. Before the snap #82 shifts to a backfield position. Team A has seven linemen at the snap. Team A's punt goes out of bounds on B's 39."

No, it's this sort of thing that angers fans:



So certainly we can and should appreciate the mind-melting detail that goes into every quick decision a referee must make, and there should also be no easy dismissal of just how freaking hard it is to get right a play with any combination of confounding factors. To use such ridiculous nuance to exempt referees from horribly blown calls on the most obvious of plays, however, is faulty logic. A vast knowledge of the rule book and the ability to biff an easy call are not mutually exclusive qualities, after all, especially with the sometimes obscured angles the refs get on field level.

It certainly does highlight the need for a thorough replay system, though, doesn't it?