The instant replay system in college football is broken. I was reminded (or convinced) of this when I heard that BG lost its one challenge in the Ball State game....for being right.
Let's review. The announcers will tell you that "every play" is reviewed. Accordingly, I have thought that the act of actually challenging a call is kind of wasted, because if the replay official thought it was a big deal, he would have called it in the first place, or at least hit the buzzer.
This system doesn't work. It can only work if the replay official does one of two things:
- Can review a replay quick enough to decide before the next play starts.
- Is sharp enough to hit the buzzer if he hasn't had a chance to look.
Actually, if you think about it, a coach's challenge should never work.
So, in the Ball State game, a highly questionable fumble was called. The replay official did not buzz down, and Coach Clawson challenged the ball just before the snap. You should be able to assume that the replay official had a clear look at the replay and decided that the call on the field was right. (He cannot, in that time, have had a close enough look to determine that there was no "indisputable" evidence).
After Coach's challenge, the replay official woke up, took a jolt of Red Bull, and actually watched the replay. And determined that it was a fumble.
Now, I understand nobody is perfect. The replay official won't get them all. But when the Coach uses his challenge and determines that the replay official made a mistake, he should get that challenge to use for the rest of the game.
That's all.
Before there were coach's challenges, I can remember Lloyd Carr calling timeout as kind of a broad hint to the replay official ("hey dude, take the next few minutes to look at that....kthxbai.")
There shouldn't be a limit on how many times you can correct an official's mistake.
Great commentary!
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