Auburn’s bellyaching aside, time to tune up for Red River Rivalry (with a Kent State scrimmage for QB Hawkins)
I have an idea. Let’s have instant replay after every play.
Have the booth review every camera angle of every part of every snap. Make sure there are no rule infractions, and everything is fair and square and by the book.
On average there are 180 total plays in a college football game. The average review takes two minutes. However, that is only looking at a specific aspect of a play. If they had to review all the camera angles just looking for infractions from every player, it would take considerably longer.
For sake of argument, let’s just double the average time to four minutes per review. Doing the math, that would be 12 hours of replay review. Add that to the average length of a college football game, which is about 3 hours and 30 minutes, we get a game that lasts 15 hours and 30 minutes.
Talk about let’s make a day of it.
I wonder if that would satisfy Auburn fans after the wailing and gnashing of teeth they did following their loss to the Sooners?
Referees are human and part of the game. No one is going to be perfect. They say you could call holding on every play in football.
I understand being upset at officiating and wanting to blame them for a loss. Oklahoma has had their fair share of bad calls go against them. Anyone remember Autzen Stadium in 2006?
But I don’t think I have ever heard it louder than the Auburn fans after that game. Referees are human and part of the game. No one is going to be perfect. They say you could call holding on every play in football.
But it’s like the strike zone in baseball. It doesn’t really matter where the strike zone is, as long as the ump calls it the same for both teams. (Although they are trying to change that in baseball with the ABS Challenge System. Which I think is a shame.)
There were several questionable calls and non-calls for both teams. Like there usually is in every game.
Auburn fans want to pick two or three out of 180 and say they were cheated and would have won if those two or three plays had been called differently or flagged. Ignoring the fact that the Sooners sacked Jackson Arnold 10 times. And ignoring the fact the game would not have been played the exact same way by either team, had those plays been officiated differently.
If they want to play the “what if” game, how about “what if Mateer hadn’t broken his hand in the first quarter? How much more would the Sooners have won the game by?”
The better team won that game. Move on Auburn.
The win of course came with a price. John Mateer will be out the next few weeks after surgery on his throwing hand. With last Saturday’s bye, there is an outside chance that he might be back for the texas game.
But in the meantime, Michael Hawkins Jr. will step back under center to lead the Sooners until Mateer fully heals.
I think Hawkins is a more than capable back up who has had several games of experience under his belt. He has even won a road game in the “all mighty” SEC. That, and given the fact he is under the guidance of a much better offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in Ben Arbuckle, gives me confidence there will not be too much of a drop off in the offensive production.
As long as the defense keeps producing on the level they have been, Oklahoma will be a challenge for anyone, with or without Mateer.
Of course, this week will be no challenge as the Kent State Golden Flashes roll into town to collect a paycheck at 3 pm on Saturday afternoon.
Hawkins Jr. will have a chance to shake off the rust in what amounts to a light scrimmage for the Sooners. Oklahoma will also welcome Javonnie Gibson and Eli Bowen back from injuries to get their first action of the season.
Saturday will be about getting comfortable with a new quarterback and preparing for the upcoming Red River Rivalry. Or whatever they’re calling it nowadays.
The Worry Meter is a meager 5% this week. Take care of business and look good doing it. With all that being said…BOOMER!!!
— Dave
Dave is a diehard Sooner, prone to the anxiety that comes with knowing too much about the team and sharing all the ups and downs with like minded fans also steeped in crimson and cream
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