Replay officials and "indisputable evidence"

[achiro]

Is it just me or does it seem like the Big 12 booth has been getting it wrong a bunch this season? It's as if they don't want to hurt the guy on the fields feelings for making a bad call. I'm getting to where I think the whole indisputable thing is horsecrap. If you see it call it just as if you were on the field. Maybe then they could get it right once in a while.

[BoulderSooner79]

It's just you. Booth refs have always played it conservative this way with an occasional surprise.

[achiro]

Yeah, I don't think it's just me, I just said that. It's worse this year than I can ever remember.

[BoulderSooner79]

I don't detect any difference, but I may be watching a different set of games than you.

[dennis580]

Is it just me or does it seem like the Big 12 booth has been getting it wrong a bunch this season? It's as if they don't want to hurt the guy on the fields feelings for making a bad call. I'm getting to where I think the whole indisputable thing is horsecrap. If you see it call it just as if you were on the field. Maybe then they could get it right once in a while.

The problem is with indisputable evidence. Thats just too high of standard. They need to change it to overwhelming evidence instead.

[BoulderSooner79]

The problem is with indisputable evidence. Thats just too high of standard. They need to change it to overwhelming evidence instead.

And I don't see that changing anytime soon. If I understand it correctly, if a bad call on the field stands, it is not considered a bad call by the booth. The only error the booth can make is to reverse a good call on the field, so they take great pains to not do that. Sort of like the "do no harm" oath - if in doubt, revert to the old days of no review. This does lead to what I call "chicken sh*t" non-reversals by the booth where anyone with eyeballs can see the call is wrong with just a tiny bit of inference.

I could see this super-safe "indisputable" policy changing with improved technology. It's already improved a bit with almost every camera being HD these days. It is possible to use computers to combine camera angles to reconstruct a 3D replay. It would take a sophisticated program and lots of compute power, but just look a video games and CGI these days. I can certainly see this happening.

[birddog]

the booth guys have gotten calls wrong very often. it's not just you. anyone says different then they are watching games live without the privilege of replay. not sure how people watching at home can see things booth buttholes can't but it happens more than anyone ever imagined when it was added. I would say the system is flawed in football period, not just the big 12

[Piware]

I think so too archiro. Seems like they sometimes don't want to make their bros on the field look bad by reversing the call. I am also annoyed with the experiment the Big 12 is running with an extra official on the field. At least 3 times I have seen an official get in the way of a runner or receiver because they haven't figured out their own formations yet.

[BoulderSooner79]

I think eveyone is being too hard on replay. It was never intended to fix all the bad calls. It was only intended to fix to very obvious bad calls. You discount all the reversals that have occurred on obvious calls that were critical to the game. I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the days before replay. I think it has also improved 1 aspect of on the field ref'ing. Refs used to call down by contact much more often and blow the whistle. So many times these bang-bang play replays would show the ball was already loose and the refs ruined a good defensive play. Now refs are much more likely to let the play go because down by contact calls are often some of the easier calls to reverse. I actually prefer the college replay to the pros. I don't like the on-field ref having to go do the review himself on the sideline. It sometimes put the same guy who threw the flag having to reverse himself. Plus, he doesn't have full access to all the video controls as the booth and has to rely on someone to supply what he asks for. The NFL now confirms scoring plays from some remote location, I don't see why they don't do the replay the same way. I'm glad the college coach doesn't have to weigh challenges against times out like the NFL guys do (except for the 1 token challenge).

[kevpks]

It's just you. Booth refs have always played it conservative this way with an occasional surprise.

This is why they should get rid of booth refs and let the referee on the field review a call in a booth on the sidelines like the NFL. This leaves control with the crew on the field.

[XingTheRubicon]

College football replay cannot use one angle pinned against another angle to conclude when a ball came out or knee was down. NFL can. So if there is not a single clear angle that shows very clear evidence...they just let it go.