The cliche often gets thrown around loosely but the 2024 College Football season’s really been a rollercoaster. Gaugy crests and unprecedented troughs. The two teams that are competing in the Natty exemplify this best. Ohio State lost to Michigan as more than 2 touchdown favorites and were considered pretenders rather than contenders. For Notre Dame, this proverbial rollercoaster went down to depths that weren’t deemed possible. ​​It’s been spoken to death about but never gets any less resounding. They lost to Northern Illinois. 

In previous iterations of the playoffs, neither team would’ve even gotten in. Yet, here we are. With just 2 teams left in the fray, the scrutiny is on 11. With this, an unfortunate reality has been brought to light. Depending on their persuasion and rooting interest, everybody has an opinion on CFB officiating. Every fanbase thinks they receive the short end of the stick when it comes to getting calls for and against their team. That says a lot. 

With no singular standard across every conference, the problems with refereeing in this sport are deep-rooted. Prevailing wisdom will tell you it’s the perceived “big” schools that get the most help. Turns out, one all-encompassing data point suggests the opposite. Ryan Day has been fighting more than just maize and blue demons all this time. He’s also been fighting monochromatic ones.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are unequivocally one of the biggest draws in the sport. A blueblood of the highest echelon. Surely the refereeing is generally biased towards them? Josh Pate took to X and said, “It’s legitimately insane how badly Ohio State gets screwed via officiating.” Alright, Pate, what’s the punchline? “There are 134 teams in FBS…Ohio State is 134th in opponent penalization.” he proceeded. That’s…surprising. We talk about superstars in the NBA getting a favorable whistle. This is on the completely opposite spectrum. The team stacked with the most talent, the most expensive roster in the history of CFB, is the one getting “screwed” the most.

OSU fans, and almost certainly Ryan Day, are aware of this travesty already. One facet is a microcosm of this entire ordeal. The Buckeyes haven’t had a single holding call in favor of them since week 1. D-lineman and star Jack Sawyer hasn’t had one since his freshman year. He’s played about 50 games since. It’ll be disingenuous, borderline delusional, to say that’s correct and opposition players aren’t holding them. This type of penalty is just one glaring wrinkle, given they’re at the bottom across the board. So does Ryan Day need to account for this in the Natty?

Ryan Day will not want to allow excuses to seep in at this juncture

I mean, he’s been dealing with this all year. It’s the norm for coach Day and his team now. Plus, Notre Dame isn’t getting a particularly advantageous whistle, either. They rank 96th in the same category. Marcus Freeman and co. are also deprived of just and fairness, albeit not as brutally. With both these teams converging in Atlanta for the Natty, you can probably expect a seamless game of football with no flags thrown at all! 

Ryan Day perhaps makes up for this prejudicial officiating with his resources. As evidenced by their traversal through the playoffs, the Buckeyes are just too talented. This delta in quality is usually enough to make up for unfair officiating. However, Notre Dame is at this juncture for good reason. This delta will be largely diminished, and it’ll come down to execution. It’ll be a shame if a poor refereeing call becomes the difference in the National Championship like it perhaps did earlier in the CFP.

Josh Pate’s discernment on things reverberates across the entire CFB sphere. His post won’t fall on deaf ears. The officiating crew will be under more duress than they already were. Fans often complain about boring games. Almost every single one would rather take a boring Natty over an enthralling one ultimately decided by an excruciating call, or lack thereof. Ryan Day and Marcus Freeman will hope an external factor doesn’t end up proving a pivot.