With the kickoff to another season on the gridiron just over a week away there are some new regulations that should be discussed.
The biggest of these new regulations is instant reply.
Due to officiating discrepancies and data obtained from an experimental season in the Big Ten Conference, the Southeastern Conference has instituted the use of instant replay for the upcoming season.
The SEC’s standard for replay this year is simple and clear cut. For a play to be reviewed there must be indisputable video evidence for an officiating call to be changed by the Replay Official.
The play must have a direct competitive impact on the game to warrant game stoppage for review. The Replay official has the sole authority to review a play and stop game action while rendering a decision on any replay. Coaches and on-field officials have no authority to request a review at any time.
With his NFL experience in coaching and instant replay, Coach Croom should be pleased to see such a system intact. Although the format is different, Croom says he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The coaches challenging is fun because you get to get make sure things get checked that you want to get checked, but I don’t think it’s feasible in college football because the thing that quite often goes overlooked is the technology and the cost of the technology,” Croom said.
This season, each SEC football stadium will have a secured replay booth equipped with DVSport Digital Replay system. Three individuals will be in the replay booth for the duration of the football game: replay official, communicator and a technician.
To keep things on a more unbiased playing surface, the replay official at each game will be selected and assigned by the conference office.
While most plays can be reviewed between the whistle and the beginning of the next play, the replay official can stop play on the field by using a pager system. Five on-field officials will wear pagers.
If play is stopped, the head referee will announce over the stadium PA system that play has been halted for the previous plays review.
Once the play has been reviewed, the replay official’s decision will be communicated to the head referee, who in turn will announce the decision over the stadium PA system.
According to SEC Coordinator of Officials, Bobby Gaston, the system of operation was the same one successfully instituted in the Big Ten last season.
“The Big Ten found it worked very well,” Gaston said. “They found that there was a calm that came over the fans that realized that a particular play was going to be reviewed.”
That calm is what many Mississippi State fans will be looking forward to this year. After an eye-catching win over Florida last season, there were officiating concerns in a loss to Arkansas and in a win against SEC East foe Kentucky.
“Last year we had a play with Kentucky that was a kind of controversial,” junior defensive tackle Deljuan Robinson said. “Hopefully this will be a positive thing since a lot of games can come down to a crucial play.”