will the sec ever experiment with this or is it not an option from the looks of it the sec needs it more than any of them
If the instant replay thing works out in the Big 10, I believe most of the other big leagues will follow suit. With SEC officials we could be in for a long day full of replays!
You know, I guess I'm going to sound like I don't know what side of the fence I want to be on ('cause I dislike officials--especially when "judgement" calls are made so late in games that ultimately decide the outcome of the game), but I also don't like the idea of instant replay in college. I've always thought of college football as football in it's truest form. Keep college football pure. For better or worse.... Because I'm so over watching million dollar momma's boys whine and cry about $$$, and cry when they don't "get the calls" based on who they are.....and then leave at first sign of more $$$$....
Hard to be pure with the sorry SEC refs. They turned the Va. Tech-USC game around with a bad call. They probably cost Fla. their game with Tn. They cost LSU the game against Allbarn. Instant replay is needed ASAP.
The majority of fans displeasure with the officials is slightly misplaced. True, the officials are guilty of mistakes, mistakes that occasionally play a decisive role in the outcome of a heated contest. Or, the cynics among you may just say that it's part of the game and coaching - especially when it comes to discipline - plays a key role in avoiding the judgement call. Nevertheless, the NCAA is far more to blame for the recent spat of bad officiating. Constant rules changes, poor communication and training of proper interpretation of the rules, and poor wages that force officials to (in most cases) perform it as a part-time gig. How about this for a fix of the root cause problem rather than treating the silly symptom ....... 1. pay the zebras enough to make it a full-time position. Lord knows that big-time CFB can afford it - this is big business we're talking about. 2. quit monkeying with the rules for the sole purpose of trying to create a "better product". The NFL and NBA tried that and guess what? They're no longer the better product. 3. number 1 above allows for year-round preparation - an opportunity to watch film of teams, a chance to properly study new changes and evaluate their impact
I've mentioned on the board that I come from a family of refs (dad and grandfather-football, uncle-basketball). And you are right, it's a part time gig. All 3 have/had other jobs. None of them ref college sports anymore, but when they did all of them had real jobs. When my dad was a college ref there was talk of making it a full time position, but nothing came of it (this was about 20 years ago). The rule changes are a result of camps, clinics, and meetings with coaches. They spend all summer attending various football camps and meeting with teams explaining rule changes. They are tested yearly. So they do #3, it's just not year round. Refs study films all offseason (on their own time, unpaid) and throughout the week. They get graded, and there are people in the stands sending in reports on the way the game was called. It's tough to find good officials, much less ones who will do the job year round. Most are ex-players or coaches, who have other jobs and use officiating as a way to stay involved with the game. I'm not sure the NCAA is willing to bankroll year round refs, as it is now they don't get paid very much. But they have improved the system in which they get the refs (the standards have gotten tougher through the years). I'm on the fence when it comes to instant replay. It's usefull, because you can't expect normal people to see things happening live in slow motion with 15 different angles. But it is a crutch. Missed or bad calls are not new, they will happen and instant replay really doesn't solve the problem that humans are not robots.
Exactly which play would have been overturned by instant replay that would have resulted in a LSU win? I'm thinking LSU players and coaches made ten times more mistakes than the refs ... which is the REAL reason LSU lost!
Instant replay is needed without any doubt. I could care less if the game runs 4-5 minutes longer every time its used....it is worth it.
I seem to recall that Bobby Gaston, head of SEC officials, at SEC media days, stated that the Big Ten was experimenting with replay this season and that NCAA was "closely observing" the impact for future consideration. If Mike Slive pushes it, and the NCAA likes what they see in the Big Ten, we could see replay in the SEC within the next 3 years. Hell, some of the CBS games are already so long (from commercial ad cramming) that the delay from replay would be negligible.
