by Jake Adams
Ole Miss fans aren't the only ones who noticed the SEC office's double standard when it comes to suspending players for helmet shots. Now al.com columnist Kevin Scarbinsky is calling attention to the SEC office's inconsistency when it comes to enforcing the helmet policy against players from Tuscaloosa with a chance at a BCS title and Ole Miss. When a columnist from Alabama who covers the Crimson Tide notices that an Alabama player is receiving preferential treatment for a hit that looked worse than Elston's there must be something to it.
There's no question but that Alabama's Quinton Dial's hit on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray in the SEC Championship game was at least as violent if not more so than Elston's from the Ole Miss game against UTEP in early September. Dial hit Murray, who wasn't looking and appeared "defenseless" as he jogged across the field toward an Alabama defender returning an interception, square in his ear hole and led with the top of his helmet. Elston did not even make contact with the UTEP player's helmet, although the SEC maintains he did. Either way, Dial's hit was with intent to put Murray on the ground and leave him there. His contact with the helmet was undeniable, and he clearly leads with his helmet. Elston was suspended. Dial was not.
The SEC's explanation doesn't measure up against the video tape (See the Scarbinsky column for video of each hit).
It's clear now that commissioner Mike Slive either now thinks he pulled the trigger to fast in suspending Elston, or he wanted to make an example using a player from Ole Miss, a school he figured had nothing to lose given its recent struggles, but doesn't want to do the same thing to the team 45 minutes down the interstate from his office that's headed to the BCS Championship Game.
Either way, Ole Miss has long suffered questionable calls from SEC officials when playing Alabama without recourse or validation from the league. It's refreshing to see a columnist from Birmingham take notice that Ole Miss hasn't been treated evenhandedly in this instance - not that it will change anything.
