The Wiz of Odds

Under Review: Use of Replay Has Gotten Out of Hand

College football officially has a problem. Instant replay has gotten in the way of the game.

Saturday's Hawaii-Louisiana Tech game took 3 hours 56 minutes to play. There were numerous stoppages, including a 22-minute delay in the second quarter while officials tried to figure if Hawaii had been given five downs to secure a first down.

"I'm still waiting to find out what happened there," Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes said.

It's not uncommon to see 7-10 stoppages per game to review on-field calls, but if replay is being used to keep track of downs, then it's time college football take another look at how the technology is being used.

Update: The Western Athletic Conference has issued an apology for the 22-minute delay in the game.

The Official Who-to-Blame List

Chances are nothing controversial will happen this postseason, but in case something does, Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News has a breakdown of the officiating crews for the 35 games.

The six Bowl Championship Series conferences rotate who works the title game, and a crew from the Big Ten will officiate the Oregon-Auburn game on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

Working a bowl game is an honor for officials, who are graded throughout the season. The conferences then send their best to the bowls.

Officials are prohibited from working games involving teams from their conference and names of the officials are not released in advance.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Pac-10 Whistleblowers

Some questionable calls made by officials during Saturday's California-USC game at the Coliseum. Thanks to Adam Rose of All Things Trojan.

Rules Were Meant to Be Broken

The biggest blown call of the weekend happened in Ann Arbor, where a replay official awarded Michigan's Brandon Minor a touchdown after the on-field referee ruled Minor was out of bounds when he caught a 19-yard pass from Steven Threet and hit the pylon.

Fortunately, the blown call didn't affect the game's outcome. But Big Ten commish Jim Delany was still steaming Sunday and said disciplinary action was possible.

"The people in the replay booth made a mistake," Delany said. "It wasn’t a mistake of judgment; it was a mistake of an application of the rule. They applied the wrong rule and they applied it improperly."

SEC Speed? Try an Extra Defender

No wonder Southeastern Conference defenses have been the rage this season. Check out these video frames sent to us by reader Jon. Louisiana State is caught with a 12th defender on the field Saturday night against South Carolina, but it somehow went unnoticed by the officials. Video of the play is at the bottom.

Update: Joe Person of the Columbia State reports that the Wilbur Hackett Jr., the umpire involved in the play, was a three-year starter at linebacker for Kentucky in the late-1960s.

Why SEC Officials Are Running Scared

Think you're smarter than Southeastern Conference officials? Try taking this 23-question exam given recently to league officials. The average score was 93%. The officials say the score counts for 25% of their end-of-season evaluation.

And then there is the fitness test, highlighted by a 1.5-mile run. Officials must reach certain times based on their age, with slower times needed as they get older. Umpires, who tend to be physically larger, get an extra minute to make their time.

Umpire Wally Hough, a 50-year-old, 275-pound man, has to complete the run in under 16 minutes. Failing to meet or beat the time means your season is over before it starts.

"It's something you dream about to be in the SEC, and you look forward to it every year," Hough said. "And one year it can all be gone."

Thanks to Image of Sport.