To the Penn State, California, Mississippi State and Utah fans out there — fuggedaboudit. At least for now.

Instant replay, as much as you may wish otherwise, remains unlikely to trickle down from the NFL to your favorite collegiate venue as an NCAA mandate, regardless how necessary it may seem. Incorrect late-game calls helped deliver losses to each of the above teams, and in the Nittany Lions’ case, on three occasions.

Still, the NCAA’s Dennis Poppe, senior director for football and baseball, cites two glaring roadblocks to applying instant replay in college football: cost and consistency.

Instant replay would require installing cameras at enough angles to cover every bit of a football field. Estimates range from seven to 13 cameras at an installation cost of between $250,000 and $1 million per school, Poppe said. Add that NCAA rules apply across all divisions — from I to III — and the likelihood further dwindles.

‘The problem, frankly, is the consistent application of the rules at all schools,’ Poppe said. ‘Not all games are televised. Is it fair to have a play in one game determined by instant replay and another not, when maybe it should be? And just because you have television does not mean you will have the right angle to have it.’

The first-round NFL playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans in 2000 serves as a prime example. The Frank Wycheck-to-Kevin Dyson lateral — dubbed the Home-Run Throwback — stood up to a review when no conclusive evidence showed the lateral to be a forward pass.

Furthermore, only one-third of challenged plays in the NFL are overturned, the Austin-American Statesman reported this month.

That said, a rash of questionable officiating — specifically three game-changing calls or non-calls in Penn State’s three losses — prompted Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany to study instant replay.

The Big 12 has considered the measure within conference. Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen has extensively researched the feasibility of replay and told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it is at least four to five years away. Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse’s director of athletics, said replay has never been discussed in the Big East.

While a conference could implement replay technology for its own games and for non-conference games with the permission of the visiting team, the NCAA prefers a uniformity in rules.

‘Some conferences could make exceptions,’ said Poppe, a former all-conference defensive back at Missouri. ‘But that would be a departure from the rules.’

A departure will only come if every school in the conference can justify the expense, which some reports found to be lower than Poppe’s estimate. The difference could mean an 8-0 record rather than 5-3 for No. 20 Penn State and a shot at a $13 million Bowl Championship Series game.

‘If you think about what’s at stake,’ Minnesota coach Glen Mason said, ‘we’re not much different in the Big Ten than it is in professional football. With what is at stake, I think it’s a crime that we don’t have the same luxury that they have. I think we owe it to our players.’

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This and that

Division III Sewanee (Tenn.) College, a.k.a. The University of the South, accomplished an incredible feat Oct. 19 against Rhodes College. Sophomore wide receiver Don Rodgers blocked three Lynx punts — two in the closing four minutes — and sophomore defensive back Nate Murphy returned all three for touchdowns in a come-from-behind 36-31 win. … Difficult to determine what’s more newsworthy. That Florida State’s 5-3 beginning to the season is its worst in 16 years, or that because of this start, quarterback Chris Rix will no longer start. Two Rix turnovers Saturday led to 10 Notre Dame points in a 34-24 FSU loss. A resolved Bobby Bowden announced Monday that Adrian McPherson will be under center Saturday at Wake Forest. ‘There was no question we need to move (McPherson) in there and see what he can do,’ Bowden said. Keep in mind that FSU is 4-0 in ACC games. … Michigan State last Thursday suspended junior quarterback Jeff Smoker (1,593 yards, 13 TDs, 10 INTs) indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules. ‘The decision was made after consulting with Jeff and others,’ head coach Bobby Williams said. ‘It is for the welfare of both Jeff and this football program that this action is taken immediately.’ Sophomore Damon Dowdell completed 14 of 24 passes for 162 yards, two touchdowns and one pick before an ankle sprain forced him out of Saturday’s 42-24 loss to Wisconsin, MSU’s fourth in five games. … Hawaii went 58 straight plays in a 37-14 win over Tulsa on Oct. 19 without running the ball. The Warriors threw 63 times and ran just 11, the most unbalanced offense in June Jones’ four seasons. Hawaii did not allow a sack. … What’s not to love about N.C. State? Thursday night, the entertaining, free-wheeling Wolfpack blitzed Clemson, 38-6, to improve to 9-0 for the first time in school history. Terrence Holt, brother of St. Louis Rams’ receiver Torry Holt, returned a blocked punt — the Wolfpack’s seventh stuffed kick this season — for a 6-0 lead. The Pack upped that to 8-0 when they caught Clemson napping while lining up for the point after. Ever wonder why teams begin off to the side in the ‘swinging-gate’ formation before shifting to the center of the field? That’s why. ‘After you give up a score, and the first score was on a punt block when the defense was not even on the field, they go out in disarray,’ N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said. ‘If someone should go to sleep, you get an easy two points.’ Amato said he called for the sneak conversion and does not leave the decision up to his players.

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Heisman watch

Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey’s most important statistic is 32-1 — his career record as a starter. But Saturday at West Virginia, Dorsey threw for a career-high 422 yards on 22-of-36 passing. In his last two games, versus FSU and at WVU, Dorsey has thrown for 784 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

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Line of the week

Before Thursday’s game, ESPN’s Jerry Punch informed Amato that the Los Angeles Times called State a fake and the Chicago Tribune labeled the team as bearing the ‘smell of a fraud.’

‘We don’t know how to read those newspapers,’ Amato shot back. ‘If we win tonight, I can wake up tomorrow the happiest 9-0 fraud in the country. And let me tell you, there are a lot of frauds in those cities, Chicago and L.A.’

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V.I.P. M.I.A.

RB Maurice Clarett, Ohio State: Clarett, who turned 19 Tuesday, is listed as probable after reinjuring his left shoulder, first damaged two weeks earlier against Wisconsin. ‘Nerves do not heal quickly,’ OSU coach Jim Tressel told reporters Tuesday. ‘Rest is the only thing that eventually solves nerve problems. We don’t have a whole bunch of time for rest.’ With 39 yards on four carries Saturday, Clarett (1,019 yards) joined Robert Smith as the only Buckeyes to rush for 1,000 yards as freshmen.

WR Kelley Washington, Tennessee: Washington’s problems are two-fold — waiting for clearance from an Oct. 12 concussion and a left heel injury that showed up during practice last week. The sophomore has yet to practice this week. Expected to be one of the country’s top receivers, Washington’s caught 23 passes this season for 443 yards. ‘As far as my season, I’m just trying to get out of the training room,’ he told the Associated Press. Asked if he’d reconsidered his decision to turn professional to support his family at season’s end, Washington said, ‘Definitely not.’

WR/PR Damien Gary, Georgia: Emergency surgery on Gary’s left leg for acute compartment syndrome — bleeding and swelling that can inhibit circulation and lead to nerve and muscle cell death — following Saturday’s game will sideline the junior indefinitely.

Published on October 30, 2002 at 12:00 pm