USD Football 1995

COLLEGE f OOTBALL 2000 AND BEYOND CONTINUED neck injuries disappeared. The effect ment. By 2017 he had devised a n practice arc tracked by cameras mount- was almost as profound as with the ere- abstruse computer program that eel on their helmets, whereupon special

software examines the videos and tells coaches why the quarterback doesn't see the open receiver, or why a linebacker fails to promp tly detect a hole in the defensive line. In a tactic copied from the military, coaches typically run their latest offensive and defensive schemes through computer simulations to uncov- er shortfalls. AL most schools, the "elec- tronic services coordinator" is the high- est-paid member of the football staff next to the head coach. "Al guard a inside linebacker, we have Bill Chase. Bill has been a welcomed addition to the pro- gram this year."

crunched volumes of data into mean- ingful output. Merryweather's 6.7 rating indicates that he gains the yardage the o ffense need s based on clown and field position nearly seven times out of every 10 tries. The running-back rating is o ne of numerous symbols of the blissful mar- riage of football and computers. Tendencies of opponents are analy,ecl electronically down to the decimal point. Players' moves in

ation of a super-tough strand of grass that could survive a game in a rainstorm without so much as a divot. It even grew indoors. During the 2000s, artificial turf became the Betamax in a VHS market. Meanwhile, injuries overall steadily decreased in number. "At fullback and outside linebacker; we have two-yearstarterMike Merryweatherwho is currentlyrated 6. 7 as a runningback, tops in the nation. Mike is ajournalism major. " Some would say that the engine of football has never been blocking and tack- ling, but statistics. Fans, coaches and players devour them: What's that school

What the announc- er left unsaid was

ranked in the country, how manyyards does that quarter- back aver-

that Chase sat out most ofthe 2019 season because ofan

age per pass com- p I etion, what is that halfback·s longest

"altercation" with a play- er fro m a n other

schoo l , though "alter- cation" inac- c ur ate I y d escribes the

run from sc rim - m age? H oweve r, most of these figures are meaningless. The problem with the national

he lmets-off fist fig ht that pro- duced a broken jawand a badly frac- tured cheekbone. Chase started the fight, an d the video replay confirmed that his anger wasj ustified. Unseen by offi- cials, the opposing defensive tackle had been elbowing him in the face through most of the garne. Nevertheless, the rules regarding fighting were specific and uncompro mising: Chase would have to sit out a game. The college pres- ident, recalling videos he had seen of bench-clearing brawls in the 1990s, extended the suspension until the end of the season. Chase never uttered a word in rebuttal other than to express regret over embarrassing the school. "Rules are rules," Chase said, refus- co NT I N U ED

rankings was solved in 2015, when the CAA instituted a 16- tcam playoff. (The bowl com-

mi ttees were powerless to stop this inno- vation after their sponsors deserted them following the inauguration of the CFL.) O the r statistics were overhauled in stages. The running-back rating, for exam ple, was authored by a computer- science graduate student who made a proposal to the NCAA that began with the question, "What does yards per carry mean if the runner gets rnost of the yardage wh en his team is leading or trailing by a large margin?" The NCAA conceded the point and p rovided seed mon ey for him to experi-

"Let's get rid of face masks," ahead coach quipped at the annual NCAA football convention. ''And while we're at it, why not get rid of helmets, too?"