Officiating.

Everyone can complain about it, few can do it. We knew that was the case in the B1G, but apparently it’s an even worse problem down in the SEC. Saturday’s game between Auburn and Penn State in Happy Valley was Exhibit A.

To be completely honest, I had more than 10 overreactions this week, all of them about officiating. For your sanity, and mine, I decided not to harp on it too much this week — though we’ll discuss it later.

A lot to get to across the B1G this week, and I have plenty of complaints. Don’t worry, though, I did keep it to 10, at least I think.

Does anyone from Saturday night’s officiating crew want to check my math on this?

Let’s end #B1GAfterDark right now

I’m going to lay my cards on the table here — I’ve never been a fan of the B1G’s decision to schedule games on a Friday night. It’s really gotten in the way of my ability to show off my new moves on the dance floor at a nearby club that’s blasting EDM until the wee hours of the morning…or maybe fall asleep on the couch at 9:30 p.m. with my hand plunged into the bottom of an empty bag of potato chips.

Either way, it’s ruining my life.

Over the years, I’ve learned to accept that #B1GFridayNight (we should start that, by the way) is now very much part of the football season. But please, for all that is holy, can we at least get a reasonable kickoff time? There’s legitimately no reason these games should be ending at 1 a.m. ET.

Keep Friday night games on the schedule. That’s fine, I guess. Let’s just get some reasonable start times.

Dumb drum drama

Try saying that five times fast. You can’t, can you?

In case you missed it, the visitor’s tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium was too small to welcome in Purdue’s “World’s Largest Drum.” Notre Dame, for whatever reason, would not allow the band to use the main entrance to wheel the drum into the stadium. So, instead, it just sat outside.

Notre Dame, you are the epitome of petty. There, I said it.

Also, this so-called “World’s Largest Drum” was towed to South Bend in the back of a pickup truck. I’m calling B.S. on it actually being the world’s largest anything.

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.

21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Is it basketball season in Bloomington?

Asking for a friend. Maybe an entire fanbase.

Maybe it actually does “mean more”

Ever since the SEC introduced that dumb, “It just means more” slogan, I have used it against the conference. After becoming a witness to arguably the greatest sight in the history of football, I’m ready to change my mind.

In the middle of Penn State’s White Out against Auburn Saturday, one Alabama fan earned his spot in college football history. He did absolutely nothing other than wearing a red Crimson Tide T-shirt right in the heart of the Nittany Lion crowd.

Right now, there is no backstory on why he was attending. The hope is he legitimately bought a ticket to sit in Beaver Stadium to watch Auburn lose, and for no reason other than that. Talk about taking the rivalry to entirely new level.

I have no idea who that legendary Alabama fan was Saturday night, but I can promise you that it absolutely means more to him. Whatever “it” is.

Buck this, Ohio State

“First Ryan Day loses his first game ever as the Ohio State head coach and now this? A four-quarter game against an winless Tulsa squad? Unacceptable.

“Who cares what he’s done in the past, the Buckeyes need to focus on the future and this guy ain’t it. Hire Saban. Bring Tressel back. Whatever you have to do, but this has to stop. Now.”

Oh, no, those aren’t my thoughts. Just a summary of waaaayyyy too many Buckeye fans on social mediathe last two weeks.

Kicking…and screaming

Nebraska made just 1-of-3 field goal attempts. It had an extra point blocked and returned for a defensive PAT. Those misses were the separation between Oklahoma’s survival and a Huskers’ upset.

I wasn’t in the home of any Husker fans this weekend, but I was pretty active on Twitter. Based on those reactions, a lot of people throughout the state grabbed their favorite pillow, squeezed it tight and yelled profanities into it for a good 4-to-5 minutes every time the special teams unit trotted onto the field in Norman.

There were probably a lot of household items tossed around, too.

SEC refs…

The number of mistakes made in Saturday night’s Auburn-Penn State game was so high that I couldn’t keep track…and neither could the officiating crew.

Whether you’re a Penn State fan, an Auburn fan or just a fan of college football, you walked away knowing one thing: That was a poorly officiated game. In a primetime situation between to power programs, that can’t happen.

The entire officiating crew LOST TRACK OF THE DOWNS. For those who don’t know, you can easily locate that kind of thing on about 13 different game tracker apps on your mobile device. Nobody in the SEC had access to that, apparently.

Kudos to James Franklin, though, who did provide us with one of the best moments of the game that didn’t include live football:

B1G RBs…

Do you know what’s going to be more difficult than handing out the Heisman Trophy this year? Naming a B1G Running Back of the Year. Seriously, look at these numbers through 3 games:

Remember back in 2014 when the B1G produced 7 players who totaled over 1,000 rushing yards, 6 of which hit 1,500? This group might be even better.

And this is a list that doesn’t even include Mohamed Ibrahim!

RU ready to rUMble?

How about this? Next Saturday, we’ll witness a 3-0 Rutgers team take on a 3-0 Michigan team with a (reasonable) 3:30 p.m. kickoff time in Ann Arbor. The game is airing on ABC.

Did you hear that, Texas? Rutgers is actually back.

Michigan is a heavy favorite heading into this game, and for good reason. It wouldn’t be a major shocker if the Wolverines took care of business against the Scarlet Kngiths.

But you know what? It almost doesn’t matter. Greg Schiano has generated some excitement about Rutgers again. It only took him about a year-and-a-half to do it, too.

Can’t spell “Northwestern Wildcats Football” without “What the hell?”

You might have to double up the letters, but it works. I checked.

Is this becoming like an every-other-year thing for Pat Fitzgerald? In 2018, Northwestern won the B1G. A ear later, the Wildcats were 3-9. Last season, Peyton Ramsey was the savior in Evanston and got the program back to Indianapolis. Saturday, Northwestern had to score a flurry of point to not get embarrassed by Duke.

DUKE!

Seriously, Northwestern, what the hell is happening?