Stagg Bowl XXXIII will have video replay to review officials’ calls, sources tell D3football.com.
The Division III football national championship will be governed by the same instant replay rules used in the Southeastern Conference, which deal with the following plays:
Reviewable
1. Plays governed by Sideline, Goal Line, End Zone, and End Line:
a. Scoring Plays, including a runner breaking the plane of the goal line.
b. Pass complete/incomplete/intercepted at sideline, goal line and end line.
c. Runner/receiver in or out of bounds.
d. Recovery of loose ball in and out of bounds.
2. Passing Plays:
a. Pass ruled complete/incomplete/intercepted in the field of play and end zones.
b. Touching of a forward pass by an ineligible receiver.
c. Touching of a forward pass by a defensive player.
d. Quarterback (Passer) forward pass or fumble (if ruled incomplete, play is finalized).
e. Illegal forward pass or illegal handing off beyond the line of scrimmage.
f. Illegal forward pass or illegal handing off after change of possession.
g. Forward or backward pass thrown from behind the line of scrimmage.
3. Other Detectable Infractions:
a. Runner ruled not down.
b. Forward progress with respect to first down.
c. Touching of a kick.
d. Number of players on field.
e. Clock adjustments (in conjunction with overturned plays).
f. Fourth-down/try fumble plays.
Not Reviewable
1. Holding.
2. Off-sides/Encroachment.
3. Pass interference.
4. Personal fouls (e.g., late hits).
5. Illegal blocks.
6. Illegal formations.
7. Face mask.
8. Taunting/excessive celebration.
9. False starts.
10. Roughing passer/kicker.
11. Fighting participants.
The SEC guidelines note that the technology allows the official to review plays without stopping the game, so just because play is not halted does not mean a play was not reviewed.
More from the SEC’s replay policy:
While most plays can be reviewed between the dead ball and the beginning of the next play, the Replay Official can stop play on the field by using a pager system:
a. Replay Official communicates via vibrating pager to field officials that a play is under review.
In the event of a pager system failure, the Communicator shall immediately notify the Alternate Official by walkie-talkie. The Alternate Official shall then notify the nearest official, who will stop play.
b. Referee announces via Stadium PA, “The previous play is under review.”
c. Communicator begins timing the replay. When play is stopped, a minimum of 45-seconds will be used. Replays should not exceed two-minutes.
I don’t like it. Either use it all the time in games, all season long, or not at all.
PikeCat,
I’m sure that the only reason it is being used Saturday is because the game is on ESPN2 and the cameras will be there. That of course can’t/won’t happen throughout the year in D3. Despite instant replays problems/limitations, in my opinion the most important thing is to get the call right. Instant replay gives them the opportunity to do that most of the time.
Well, it’s not available year-round, so I think we should be happy with what we get. Thankfully, the person in the booth should be experienced with the system, so I hope it will go smoothly.
I think you have to have it because all of the cameras that are going to be there. A blown call will be shown nationwide and seen by everyone and must be corrected if possible. Otherwise, there will be endless whining by the fans of the team that gets screwed.
I’m not familiar with the SEC replay rules. Is there a coach challenge involved or is this what you find like during the 2-minute warning in the NFL where it’s the “guys in the booth” doing the call for the review?
My roommate will be in the booth with the replay official and the owner/head man of DVSport, the company that runs the replay programs in many I-A games. They have both worked many games all season long, so the game should run very smoothly. They’ve done games in the Big East, ACC, SEC and NFL every week all year long. It’s a really good system.
What happens is if there is any call that is questionable during the game, the replay official will review the play as soon as it happens and view numerous different angles (as recorded by cameras around the stadium) and if he deems the play may need to be looked at further, he will alert the officials on the field and there will be a stoppage of play. The replay official is the only person who can make this call, and his word is final after he reviews all angles and makes a decision. The rules are similar to NFL, in that a call cannot be overturned if it isn’t cut and dry. I personally think the system works great, but there are mistakes made, as w/ anything involved w/ the game. The mistakes tend to be minimal (we–at Pitt–had maybe 2 or 3 calls that I personally thought were wrong throughout our whole season; 1 of those wasn’t reviewed when the TV replays showed it should have been). Coaches should be ready to have a play or two designed for a “hurry up” situation should they feel they benefitted from a wrong call by an official in order to make it difficult to overturn that call. Once the next play has started, the previous play cannot be reviewed.
Well, that’s good, it’s not exactly one more thing for the coaches to worry about besides maybe putting in a hurry up play or something to that effect. It wouldn’t be good if we’d be giving flags or pagers to coaches and them not being sure when or how to use them.
I think this is fantastic. This will help prove that the better team will win the game, and officiating cannot be blamed by the team that unfortunately ends with the loss. This could also allow more points scored and a more thrilling game (think of Blake Elliot’s Stagg Bowl reception in 2003, ESPN2 showed this multiple times; a two-feet-in-bounds reception, but was ruled out of bounds on the field).
I am very much pro-replay in the NFL and, to the extent that it’s been used, in college. I favor getting calls right as much as possible, and replay certainly helps that.
My concern is that this adds (in effect) a new rule or a new system to a single game, even though it is the national title game. There was probably, as some point this season, a team that lost an important game because replay was not available. It seems unfair to that team/teams that replay should be used now.
I know the money/technology isn’t there to have replay for other D3 games. Adding it in this last game, after the hundreds of other games have been won and lost without it, just seems a little bit unfair and wrong to me.
The only two teams left playing have not lost without it, so how can it be considered unfair to them. You can’t go back and re-do all the wrongs in the world!
The criteria as listed by by the SEC look very comprhensive and who can seriously question getting the call right? Remember the touchdown that Blake Elliot from St. John’s wasn’t credited with in the 2003 championship game?
The people in the know in Salem whole-heartedly approve of the preview of the D-III title game that ran at halftime of the I-AA title game.
Looked to me like the touchdown at the end of the first have got missed by the review official. Do they see the same replay as what was played on TV?
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