Last season the Big Ten jumped into the digital age and implemented instant replay. This season 8 more conferences have decided to take the plunge. Results have been cautiously positive in that we have seen several calls overturned that in previous seasons would have been held up causing fans no amount of ire. So what are the negatives? Yes, I had to ask. Well one of the fears prior to the adoption of instant replay was the implications it would have on game flow and game length.
While watching the TCU-BYU game, the commentators were discussing instant replay after Bronco Mendenhall for the second time was successful in tossing out the red flag. They were quick to explain that according to the Big Ten, (last years result) instant replay only lengthened games by an average of just over five minutes. How ironic that the game in progress would end up breaking the record for the longest college game ever at four hours and forty five minutes, and like a portent of things to come, the game ended on a controversial fumble call for a TD that was reviewed by the instant replay crew. Is there a risk that games will stretch on like this as instant replay becomes an institution of the college game? It might, but so far there really isn't any conclusive evidence. If games begin to stretch on, it could put the officiating crews up in the skybox under pressure of expediting calls which might mean allowing some erroneous flags to stay put for the sake of not keeping these kids out on the field for too long.
What I have noticed in this young season is the elevation of anger towards officials in general. Everywhere you look you see fans becoming even more heated than usual over legitimate as well as perceived bad calls by the refs. The big screens and instant replay options have exposed the more human nature of officiating crews, and patience for such has worn quickly thin. Thirty years ago crowds would rant and rave, but because few had a big screen to view everything in larger than life detail, criticisms were cushioned by the uncertainty. Now, each critical call is digested and parsed frame by frame for all to see in all possible angles. What does this reveal? In reality it only reveals just how difficult it has been for officials to stay on top of the game.
After interviewing a conference director of officials last year, I came away with an increased respect for the effort officials put in given the amount of abuse they must suffer at the hands of fans. Does that give them a free ride in my eyes? Not a chance. What instant replay has done is raise the bar on what is required for officials to be certified. Sure this season is probably going to go down as one of the worst in officiating history, but growing pains are just that, painful. What might be prudent for officials directors of the various conferences to consider is setting up a parallel instant replay of the flag throwing official during the play. I think it would add a nuance to the credibility of the call if the officials knew that they were under the gun.
I am not suggesting that a sideline judge is picking his nose or daydreaming about an after game drink with his buddies, but lapses do occur. Yes this idea may sound complicated, but officials after every game are critiqued by the director of officials, and they each receive a tape or DVD of the game with the focus of the film on them and their performance. That means the film is already there. I think if replay of the officials were to be combined with replay of the call so that fans can see the entire picture it would serve to spur the officials to new heights of qualitative calls and it would also maybe, just maybe settle the fans down a bit in regards to their bile spitting tendencies.
Week 5 Picks:
| ACC | ||
| Virginia Tech | <-- | West Virginia |
| Virginia | <-- | Maryland |
| Utah | <-- | North Carolina |
| Navy | <-- | Duke |
| Ball State | --> | Boston College |
| Syracuse | --> | Florida State |
| Clemson | <-- | Wake Forest |
| S Florida | <-- | Miami |
| Big East | ||
| Pittsburgh | --> | Rutgers |
| Fla Atlantic | --> | Louisville |
| Connecticut | <-- | Army |
| Virginia Tech | <-- | West Virginia |
| Syracuse | --> | Florida State |
| S Florida | <-- | Miami |
| Big Ten | ||
| Illinois | --> | Iowa |
| Michigan | --> | Michigan St |
| Indiana | --> | Wisconsin |
| Minnesota | <-- | Penn St |
| Notre Dame | <-- | Purdue |
| Big XII | ||
| Texas | <-- | Missouri |
| Baylor | EVEN | Texas A&M |
| Colorado | --> | Oklahoma St |
| Iowa St | --> | Nebraska |
| Kansas | --> | Texas Tech |
| Kansas St | <-- | Oklahoma |
| C-USA | ||
| SE Louisiana | --> | Tulane |
| SMU | --> | Marshall |
| Rice | --> | UAB |
| Southern Miss | --> | E Carolina |
| Houston | EVEN | Tulsa |
| UCF | <-- | La Lafayette |
| UTEP | <-- | Memphis |
| MAC | ||
| Ball State | --> | Boston College |
| Kent State | EVEN | E Michigan |
| Temple | --> | Bowling Green |
| C Michigan | --> | Akron |
| Buffalo | --> | W Michigan |
| MWC | ||
| Air Force | <-- | Colorado St |
| Utah | <-- | North Carolina |
| UNLV | --> | Wyoming |
| New Mexico | --> | TCU |
| BYU | <-- | SDSU |
| PAC10 | ||
| USC | <-- | Arizona St |
| Washington St | <-- | Oregon St |
| Oregon | EVEN | Stanford |
| Arizona | --> | California |
| Washington | --> | UCLA |
| SEC | ||
| Ole Miss | --> | Tennessee |
| LSU | <-- | Mississippi St |
| Florida | <-- | Alabama |
| Middle Tenn | --> | Vanderbilt |
| S Carolina | --> | Auburn |
| SunBelt | ||
| Fla Atlantic | --> | Louisville |
| Fla Intl | --> | Florida A&M |
| Arkansas St | <-- | La Monroe |
| Middle Tenn | --> | Vanderbilt |
| UCF | <-- | La Lafayette |
| WAC | ||
| Utah State | <-- | Idaho |
| Nevada | --> | San Jose St |
| New Mexico St | <-- | La Tech |
| Boise St | <-- | Hawaii |
Last week 6-6(.500) Season 8-19 (.421) Whew rough start, but I am confident I can get back up over the .700 mark which is where I have been the last five seasons.
Fear Factor:
This weeks Fear Factor focuses on the Big East. Of course this is a bit tricky since half of the New Big East is just that...new. So this weeks table only illustrates the four remaining original conference teams.
Note: RL= Road Loss RW= Road Win NCM R%= Percentage of Road Games played at NCM schools. NCM RW%= Number of Road Games won at NCM Schools. NCM W%= Number of games won vs NCM Schools. Also this is based on regular season games. Bowl games are not calculated, and also any games ending in a tie were not considered.
| Big East | W | L | H | RL | RW | Tot | NCM R% | NCM RW% | NCM W% | RFF |
| West Virginia | 41 | 5 | 36 | 2 | 8 | 46 | 0.217 | 0.800 | 0.891 | 0.783 |
| Pittsburgh | 34 | 13 | 33 | 7 | 7 | 47 | 0.298 | 0.500 | 0.723 | 0.702 |
| Rutgers | 37 | 16 | 36 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 0.321 | 0.588 | 0.698 | 0.679 |
| Syracuse | 40 | 8 | 28 | 4 | 16 | 48 | 0.417 | 0.800 | 0.833 | 0.583 |
| 152 | 42 | 133 | 20 | 41 | 194 | 0.313 | 0.672 | 0.787 | 0.687 |
Although not as bad as the ACC numbers, we still see just how salted the situation is. West Virginia only losing two road games in twenty years to NCM and other teams can seem impressive if it were not for the glaring fact that they have only played 10 road games out of 46 total in that same time period. Rutgers is somewhat better edging close to the minimum of 35% and of course you see how it has effected their ability to win. Syracuse should be applauded. Not only does their road game percentage vs NCM and other teams exceed the minimum standard, but their Fear Factor is close to the ideal of .500. A FF at this level means a team travels as much as plays at home. Anything less means the team is a real road warrior. Levels over .700 just show an unwillingness to travel thus the Fear Factor. Again the Mountaineers record really isn't that impressive when considering that they rarely leave the safety of Morgantown.
Like the ACC the bulk of all of the above listed teams schedule was filled with lots of fluff like: Cincinnati, Louisville, East Carolina, Ohio, Kent State, Tulane, Army, Navy, Colgate and Villanova. Yes Louisville has become a solid program in recent years, but it hasn't always been that way.
Whispers:
Nothing simmering this week
Fan-dumb:
This weeks fan-dumb goes out to commentators Craig James and Aaron Taylor when covering the USC-Oregon game. Now I realize that these guys are not necessarily academically inclined, but some mistakes are just too big to ignore. James has never fully recovered from his humiliating loss in the 1980 Holiday Bowl AKA Miracle Bowl at the hands of BYU back in the day when he shared carries with Eric Dickerson at SMU. You can almost sense his resentment at having to "waste" his time talking about the Cougars unless they are being pounded by anyone. This resentment seems to extend to recent former BYU staff. When discussing what the Oregon Ducks needed to do in the second half he waxed curious as to what offensive Coordinator "Jerry" Crowton was going to do. Given the fact that "Gary" Crowton has spent considerable time in the national media, bucking for coach of the year honors in 2001 as well as his stint with the Chicago Bears, it isn't as if he is an unknown. Sans the bad blood, these kinds of errors are reminiscent of that scene in Notting Hill where the effeminate book store assistant confuses Julia Roberts character with Demi Moore. I wonder if James has a thing for Patrik Swayze?
Now if that were the only faux pas it probably would never have raised my irritation meter, but Mr. Taylor's blooper was one for the ages. Now I know that some athletes were able to slink through high school and even college without having to actually crack open a book and one has to wonder if Taylor fits that description. When confronted by his cohosts concerning his pick of Louisville in the National Championship game and their apparent half time melt down against South Florida, Aaron Taylor without hesitation boldly predicted that the Cardinals would fight back. Now that is where he should have left well enough alone...But No.... He had to attempt to impress viewers with a WWII analogy about how the Cardinal would fight back and beat South Florida just like the United States fought back and beat the Italians after they bombed Pearl Harbor. You know it is bad when your 15 year old son drops his jaw in amazement at...well...at the kind of ignorance displayed on college gameday.
Ross Out-->
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