I???ve watched the replays of the controversial onside kick from this weekend???s game between Oklahoma and Oregon and it seems to me that the officials missed a call. There was also a questionable call on a pass interference penalty called on an Oklahoma defender. The Sooners went on to lose by one point and that makes this even more difficult to swallow.
It???s no secret that calls are missed at the little league, high school, college and professional levels. We???ve seen video replay added across college football this season, but it didn???t do its job on Saturday. The bottom line is that there is no foolproof way to avoid a missed call. All we can do is put as many precautions in place as possible and hope the officials get it right.
I believe video replay enhances competition; I don???t see any reason to question its benefits. At the U.S. Open last month, the commentators said that calls were ???only??? overturned about one-third of the time under a new system that allows players to challenge calls. If ???only??? one wrong call is made right, it???s worthwhile to have video replay at the ready.
So the question becomes, how do officials miss calls when they have the chance to look at the replay? They need conclusive evidence to overturn a call, and I???m sure they weren???t positive and therefore couldn???t pull the trigger.
Because there isn???t a playoff in the Football Bowl Subdivision, a loss really leaves a blemish on a team???s record as it fights for a spot in one of the coveted BCS bowls. To have the outcome of game decided by the officials doesn???t seem fair, but I???m not sure there???s much of a solution. Unfortunately, bad calls are a part of the game.