Much has been said about the play review system in college football. The current rule only covers review of official&8217;s decisions, but there is no plan in the works about reviewing player&8217;s mistakes or coach&8217;s poor decisions. The last two or three weeks have provided several instances where a coach&8217;s poor decision or game management has cost or nearly cost his team a game.

Tennessee is an example. The Vols lost their game against Florida, in part, because poor clock management by the coaching staff allowed them little time to mount a late drive. They won against Alabama Saturday in spite of a coach&8217;s bad move which led to a five-yard penalty.

More importantly, it gave Alabama an extra time-out because the penalty not only cost the Vols a crucial five yards, but the clock-stoppage gave the Tide what amounted to an extra time out. Tennessee, though allowing Alabama one first down, did not let the Tide reach field-goal range and preserved their important victory.

Speaking of that substitution rule infraction, the specific item in the rule that Tennessee violated is found in NCAA Rule 3, Section 5, Article 2c, which reads (in part) &8220;. . . . a departing player who leaves the huddle or his position within three seconds after a substitute becomes a player, is considered to have left immediately. Team A may not break the huddle with 12 or more players.&8221;

I was asked about what some thought was a confusing official&8217;s signal in the Florida-Auburn game. The play, which resulted in Florida giving Auburn a two-point safety, started with Florida snapping the ball from its own one-yard line. What actually happened was that Florida was flagged for holding in their own end zone. The fans thought the signal had been for illegal motion by a Florida lineman. Had that happened, the play would not have been allowed to continue, and the penalty would have been half the distance to the goal line, from the initial line of scrimmage. The rule covering safeties states, in part: &8220;It is a safety when: b) an accepted penalty leaves the ball on or behind the offending team&8217;s goal line.&8221;

A note to all my friends and readers who know of my long-time dislike of Notre Dame. I will eat a little crow. I still do not like the &8220;Fighting Irish&8221; but will freely admit that they have a desire to win that surpasses that of most teams. I grudgingly admit that Notre Dame&8217;s comeback win against Michigan State.

The word is out on Trinity. Though there are no MPSA Division A schools in Madison County, all of the fans and coaches who know my Natchez connections asked about Trinity. Is Ridley for real? Are the Saints really that good?

The only answer I can give them is that my wife&8217;s great-nephew (Parker Brumfield) is Trinity&8217;s quarterback. Of course, my son-in-law (Craig Beesley) coaches at Cathedral, and both of those teams are headed to post-season play, along with Natchez High, Vidalia, Ferriday, Huntington, and AACS (if Coach Bobby Marks can possibly pull them through).

And, that&8217;s official.

Al Graning writes a weekly column for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached via e-mail at alanward39157@aol. com