There are five days until Florida's September 1 opener with Bowling Green. There are 51 entries left in the 100 For 100 series. 48's special.
If you have been to a football game in the instant replay era — and bless your poor soul if you haven't — you have almost certainly seen replays on the gigantic video boards that reach into the sky at today's stadiums. And you've probably been frustrated by a critical replay not being played when you wanted it to be. That doesn't seem like it will be a problem anymore, thanks to a change in SEC rules:
Starting with games this weekend, institutions are not limited in the use of replays except when a stoppage occurs for an official review. The time during which replays may be shown is from the end of a play until the beginning of the next play, except when a stoppage occurs for an official review.
During official reviews, stadium video boards will be able to show replays from the television network that is broadcasting the game. During an official review, the video feed from the television network will be shown on the stadium video board only between the referee’s announcement to stop play for the review and his communication of the review’s outcome.
What that basically means is that you'll be able to see virtually every play of every game you see in person more than once, and that you'll see more of what the TV broadcast shows on controversial plays.
It's not a huge thing, but it will matter, and it eliminates one of the deficits to the TV experience the in-person experience has. This won't convince fans to go to games instead of watching them in HD, but fans who do attend those games will notice. And they'll appreciate it.