You might remember the ripped Big 12 referee that went viral during the UT vs. OK game, Scott Campbell (google him). That's the dude I sat next to. A few interesting topics we discussed:

1) He's a big time ref. He reffed the Orange Bowl CFP Semifinal last year with Georgia vs. Michigan. He wasn't surprised how Georgia dominated Michigan, and wasn't shocked they beat Alabama. He said it was the most athletic team he's ever reffed. He also reffed the Rose Bowl in 2014 (Michigan St. vs. Stanford), and has done several other big time bowl games.

2) He's reffed many BYU games (BYU vs. UMASS, BYU vs. UTSA, BYU vs. Utah several times, BYU vs. UNLV, BYU vs. USC, and a few others). He loves how well BYU travels, and says it blows his mind every time he ref's BYU how many fans are on his flights and at the stadiums.

3) He reffed the BYU vs. Utah game in 2012 when Ute fans rushed the field and got a penalty, and BYU had 3 attempts at game winning FG's and missed all of them. He jokingly said he did everything possible to help BYU win that game 🙂

4) I asked who the worst fans he's reffed in front of were, and he quickly smirked and said Utah. He said all kidding aside, after a few games leaving Rice Eccles he wasn't certain he would get out alive, they were brutal!

5) I asked about what he thought of UT and OK leaving the Big 12 and he said he's extremely disappointed and thinks they're making a mistake because they're likely not going to win the SEC. Ultimately tho, it's all about the money and he understands why they made the move

6) He said he's a Stanford fan by nature, but when he steps on the field it's not difficult to separate fandom from doing his job. He said it would be very easy for people to put pieces together if he had bias during a game, and that he's so focused on making sure his play call accuracy is high that he doesn't get caught up in fandom of his team.

7) He also is REALLY hoping to get the BYU vs. Notre Dame game in Las Vegas. He said when asked about potential assignments from the Big 12, and when asked about potentially reffing the BYU vs. Oregon game or BYU vs. Notre Dame, he told them he'd want BYU vs. Notre Dame. He said he fully expects BYU and Notre Dame to enter the game undefeated, which is why he wants it so badly. He hopes College Gameday is there.

He was very friendly and complimentary of BYU, and thinks we're going to have a great season. Go Cougs!