Flag on the play: Are Refs ruining sports?

As a self-proclaimed sports enthusiast, I love nothing more than a good game with great competition. However, the one thing that stands in the way of sports being an enjoyable experience in some cases are the referees. A referee is meant to be a mediator of sorts in the sports world. They make sure that rules and guidelines are followed, good sportsmanship is shown, and ultimately, that no one puts anyone in danger of getting hurt.
However, you have some referees that make my head hurt. I wonder how some even received their certifications. For those who don’t know, there are national academies where referees are required to graduate in order to wear their coveted black and white shirt, hat, and whistle.
A prime example is the Southern University Jaguars just took a massive loss from Jackson State. Now, granted our offense was completely inconsistent. However, being a spectator that watches the opposing player’s arm go through one of your player’s horse collars and not one flag is thrown is absurd. Now, imagine watching that incident happen multiple times during a football game, where most of those calls were on a third down that could have been a first down!
By no means am I making excuses for my school’s team that got outplayed by a better team that day, but when you mix an already competitive game with poor referees, it makes no sense to have flags not thrown when it needs to be done! They need to allow coaches to throw flags at referees! I said it, and I’m not sorry I said it!
There are no consequences for officials that do not do their job correctly. Which I don’t think is fair. If I knew there were no repercussions to my job, I’d do whatever I wanted to, also. I think the National Association of Sports Officials needs to reevaluate the requirements to maintain active referee status.