After viewing numerous college football games this season, including several games with controversial endings, I have now drawn two conclusions.

First, the officiating has been nothing less than atrocious. Second, college football needs to implement an instant replay system.I don’t know what the criteria for becoming an official is, but I’m sure being blind and having terrible awareness isn’t part of it. We don’t expect officials to throw on their glasses and spot microscopic bacteria on the back of a player’s jersey, but we do expect them to be able to make the calls which affect the outcome of games.

In all sincerity, I do realize that refereeing a football game involves a certain level of human error. However, wouldn’t conventional wisdom tell us that a backup system could help correct those errors?

Instant Replay’s detractors are quick to tell us that it will slow the pace of the game, and that it will underscore the human judgment used by officials. But when human judgment has been costing teams games, who cares if the game lasts an extra 20 minutes.I know I wouldn’t have minded if Saturday’s game at Hornet Field lasted a few extra minutes to allow for an instant replay.

While it isn’t perfect, the instant replay system that the NFL uses is a good example of how replay can be effective. In order to ensure that the game isn’t overly extended, each team is granted two challenges per game.

However, a team can’t challenge a call inside of two minutes of the half, and if they do challenge a call unsuccessfully it will result in the loss of a timeout.

Now, just because the team can’t challenge a call inside two minutes, it doesn’t mean that the officials in the replay booth can’t. For example, on Saturday the Sac State coaches wouldn’t have been able to challenge the situation at the end of the game, but the booth could have examined whether or not Montana State snapped the ball before the time had elapsed.

We all remember the debacle that occurred last year in New England. The Raiders forced Patriot quarterback Tom Brady to fumble the ball, seemingly ending the game. However, New England coach Bill Belechik challenged the play, which resulted in the officials overturning the initial fumble determination.

To make a long story short, the referees determined that Brady didn’t fumble because of the “tuck rule”; and explaining the “tuck rule” is like trying to explain molecular chemistry to Forrest Gump.While Raider fans will dispute the call to their dying day, the officials made the right determination with the instant replay, according to NFL rules.

Maybe if replay was available for Sac State’s game on Saturday, the outcome would have resulted in a Sac State victory instead of a demoralizing defeat.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not acknowledging that replay is perfect, or that officials don’t make mistakes. But when everyone agrees that officials do make mistakes, it is wrong not to correct those mistakes.

If the technology exists, why not utilize it? But then again I’m just a fan, what do I know?