“Canes-Hokies Replay Drama: Cheers for Some, Jeers for Others! Is There a Better Solution?”

Some fans are still furious, while others remain relieved about the conclusion of last Friday’s Miami-Virginia Tech matchup. The Hokies, already stung by a controversial late holding penalty that wiped out a touchdown, couldn’t overcome the video review that nullified a Hail Mary score and their chance for an upset victory.

It used to be said that clear and convincing evidence was necessary to overturn the on-field decision. I always wondered if “clear” wasn’t sufficient on its own—wouldn’t “convincing” be enough? Apparently not; constitutionally, both were required. Or at least, that’s what we believed.

Virginia Tech straight up just got robbed of a touchdown. How do you call this holding? pic.twitter.com/KYyE2GkXUP

— Money Line Reaper (@Art15Lopez) September 28, 2024

CHARLIE HUSTLE
Pete Rose is remembered as the ultimate competitor and teammate by a former pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds.

Last Friday, the replay official ended up with neither clear evidence nor a solid decision, yet the call was still overturned.

To be fair, if the initial call had been incomplete, there wasn’t enough evidence to contest that either. However, since the play was deemed a catch, Tech argues it shouldn’t be overturned, highlighting just how subjective this all is.

All of this makes me wonder: Would it really be so terrible if officials occasionally just shrugged and chose not to make a call at all?

“The call on the field is… I have no idea, so we’re deferring to the replay judges.”

If I were a field judge known for having calls overturned, I might be inclined to avoid further embarrassment and just raise my hands in the air, saying, “Who knows? How about we pass this decision up to the replay team?”

This approach would eliminate the stubborn notion that the original call must remain if an overturn isn’t obvious, clear, or convincing.

Of course, the inevitable day might arrive when a voice from the replay studio chimes in with, “Uh, we had a power outage and the monitors are down.” Or maybe that’s just a problem I experience at home!