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Officials took nearly 8 minutes to review one play in the Army-Navy game
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The annual Army-Navy game is one of the best games of the college football season. This year, it was also the scene for one of the longest reviews in the history of the sport.
Early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s matchup, Army decided to send its offense on the field for a 4th-and-2. With a 10-0 lead, a first down would’ve kept the drive alive and milked valuable time off the clock.
Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. appeared to reach the first down marker but the spot of the football was reviewed. What looked like a quick review turned into an eternity.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the review lasted eight minutes. Play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler repeatedly said it was the longest review in the sport.
It took eight minutes from the conclusion of Army’s 4th down play to the respotting of the ball after the review.
That’s abysmal.
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/TarN8tion/status/1071534086643216386
Eventually, officials came to a conclusion, ruling Hopkins’ run a few inches shy of the first down marker.
Was it a close call? Sure. But it shouldn’t have taken eight minutes to review the play and make a decision.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB