The Kansas football team lost their fourth straight game Saturday. Did the official review process impact David Beaty’s team’s slow start?
The first quarter of Saturday’s Kansas football game lasted over an hour long. That’s correct. A 15-minute college football quarter took over an hour to play and the officials are to blame. Let me just say, I never blame officials for the outcome of games. What happened in in the opening quarter would not have changed the outcome of Saturday’s game. But it did not help.
The referees do a thankless job and I wouldn’t want their responsibility. I’ve had long conversations with several college and professional football referees. One of the men served on the field for many years. The NFL later promoted him into a supervisory role. As a matter of fact, a football referee’s job is very different today with all the technology necessary to conduct reviews. While the oversight is great, it’s killing the flow of many football games.
You might attend or watch dozens of game where official reviews might not impact much. Several of the six reviews during Saturdays first quarter of the Kansas football game were unnecessarily long. I’m not disputing the decisions. On the other hand, It shouldn’t take that long to determine the spot of a football on a simple running play. Did Fox or whoever provided the review technology use inferior equipment? Did they not have enough equipment to do the job efficiently? I understand that could be the case Saturday.
I am not making excuses for the Kansas football team. Especially for the KU defense. On the other hand, standing around waiting for the first two official reviews after Texas Tech shut down Kahlil Herbert on 4th and 1 might have had an impact. I realize the Jayhawk defense also gave up a touchdown on the opening drive. When you give up 65 points there are few excuses.
Next: KU football: Signs of life despite another loss
I believe the Big 12 should report when there is a problem with the equipment used for the official reviews or they have limited equipment for a game. The games are too long. I blame the officials. Saturday’s homecoming game lasted almost 4 hours. That makes no sense.
I don’t like the waste of time to watch a 4-hour football game. As a matte of fact, nobody enjoys watching referees wandering around waiting for someone hundreds of miles away to make a decision. It’s bad for the fans, players and the game.