Pac-12 announces replay changes amid third-party officiating controversy

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott confirmed on Thursday that Woodie Dixon, the conference's general counsel and senior vice president of business affairs, interfered with a targeting replay review during a September game between USC and Washington State.

"We've come to the conclusion that we made a mistake in our procedure," Scott told Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel. "We want to eliminate any ambiguity from that."

The Pac-12 has now taken measures to eliminate any influence from both David Coleman, the director of officiating, and Dixon during the in-game replay process. The conference will also conduct a review, and Scott will have discussions with coaches, presidents, and athletic directors. Other leagues will also be surveyed to find the best practices for replay review.

During the Trojans-Cougars game on Sept. 21, a replay official and the command center agreed that a targeting penalty should be enforced, in addition to the roughing the passer foul called on the field during a sack of USC quarterback JT Daniels. The play would have resulted in the ejection of Washington State defensive lineman Logan Tago, but Dixon didn't agree and the targeting call wasn't made.

''We mixed administrative oversight and leadership with real-time replay-review calls, made by experts, on the field, in the stadium and in the command center,'' Scott said. ''Moreover, we've allowed for ambiguity about who's got the final call and who makes the ultimate decisions in replay review.''

The Pac-12 will not be punishing any parties involved in the September incident because Scott doesn't believe anyone acted with bad intentions.