game-changing call

A horrible celebration call marred the Pinstripe Bowl, depriving Kansas State a fair conversion try. Such post-play calls can be enforced on kickoff, and that is what should have been done in this case, 1:13 remaining with KSU having just narrowed the score to 36-34.

The player merely saluted the crowd. Rather than being a gesture to "draw attention to himself" it draws attention to the crowd, away from the player. The flag should not have been thrown, nor the yardage imposed as it was. The officials actions impacted the score and outcome, something they could have avoided by enforcing the yardage on kickoff rather than the point after touchdown.

The only mitigating factor is that Bill Snyder should have kicked a field goal on the prior possession rather than faking it, which failed. Had he taken the 3 points, the touchdown would have put him up 37-36, PAT pending. Ironically, he would want to try a 2-pt conversion there as well.

The betting line on this game was Kansas St by 1 point.

Is the Big East a BCS-caliber conference?

Since Virginia Tech and Miami left to join the ACC, the Big East's automatic BCS bid has been a joke. They grabbed two quality teams from Conference USA, Cincinnati and Louisville, but even when the Bearcats or Mountaineers or Bulls make national championship noises, they flare out in the end. Last year Cincy looked outmatched against Florida. West Virginia's drubbing at the hands of NC State tonight proved that even the Big East's best defense can not win against a foe from a real BCS conference.

In every year since the big boys left, the Mountain West has had a better national championship contender than the Big East. Now, however, the MW has fractured. TCU is joining the Big East, and BYU has gone independent; Utah left for the Pac-10. They picked up Boise State and will add Nevada and Fresno State next year.

The WAC has added two lower-division schools, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State, but would have been wiser to merge with the Sun Belt conference, form two divisions and play a championship game. Instead of TX-SA and TXSt moving up, the FBS should have jettisoned Eastern Michigan and Western Kentucky.

Even with TCU, the Big East lacks enough teams to split into divisions, and they should consider reinstating Temple or inviting Central Florida so they can hold a championship game. Starting next year, the Pac-10 and Big Ten will have championship games, and that should be a minimum requirement for holding an automatic BCS bid.

rule change on fumbled snaps

Fumbled snaps should be charged to the center. Or like baseball, who fumbled should be the official scorer's judgment. He could rule the center botched it, the QB bobbled it, or his guard stepped on his foot.

Under current scoring rules, the quarterback always tallies the fumble, and that is not always fair. If only for informational value, knowing whether the fumble happened on the snap or during play has value; crediting bad snaps to linemen adds a dimension of information.

Plus, there are not enough stats for linemen, and it would be entertaining to know which center has the best and worst snap percentage.

great win by Air Force

The Independence Bowl has a knack for choosing great opponents. Whether it is Mississippi State and Texas A&M reverting to the single wing in a surprise blizzard or the Seneca Wallace-led Iowa State Cyclones missing wide on a 47-yard field goal that would have beat a down Crimson Tide, post Stallings, Shreveport has a tradition of hard-fought, meaningful games.

This year they paired college football's option powerhouses: the Air Force Falcons and a nest of yellow jackets. Both schools have demanding academic standards that make most FBS players ineligible, but compensate by running a disciplined offense that requires critical decisions by players. Most FBS schools prefer offenses that put the thinking on the sideline and upstairs in the press box, where coaches surround themselves with paper, charts and laptops. Schools with smart players run the triple option.

Georgia Tech and Air Force also play stout defense. That takes smarts too. A late interception near their own end zone gave the Falcons a 14-7 win over the toughest batch of nerds in the South.