No one here was in the booth as the keeper of the clock. No one here knows what happened. It’s impossible to explain the situation without many more details that are not available to anyone here.
Volnation has a diverse following. Not everyone here is an idiot. (This isn't directed at you). There must be someone that has worked the chains, run the clock or even installed one in a stadium before. Look - I'm not trying to be difficult - I am an engineer, an have been creating software for many years. I was working at Kennedy Space center running a couple of computers in NASA headquarters on that fateful day when the Challenger was lost. I followed that investigation for the next 3 years. I only say that because your answer is similar to the committee in charge of finding out what is happening turning in their report and it says "sh*t happens, stuff breaks". A non answer.
Just think about what is happening (sort of like a flow chart). OK the clock goes out and the ref says "The time is being kept on the field".
Who is keeping the time?
How is he keeping it? (what device is he using)
How is he communicating the time to the coaches on the sideline?
By the way, there are two sidelines. Same ref (guy with the clock) in his pocket can't be on both sidelines, how do
both coaches know the accurate time. How do the sideline refs communicate the time to each other?
What about the play clock? Would suck to be a quarterback and get a delay of game because you don't know how much time is left.
Why can't the device in the ref's pocket that keeps the "time on the field" be communicating to the display of the clock in the stadium? (This is the part that baffles me). Is it radio controlled?
There are obviously 2 clocks in play, the play clock and the time remaining. When they fail, why isn't one of them still working? Seems they both go dark during this mysterious period.
What is the weak link in the chain, which one of these events is most likely to fail?
If it fails, why isn't there a backup?
College football is BIG MONEY. You sort of expect that these schools would invest in making sure things go right during a ballgame. You are correct in saying "no one here knows what happened". I just want to understand why something that seems really simple to me happens, and when it happens, (like in the Bama Florida game) it happened in the last 3 minutes when one play could change the outcome of the game. Seems a little fishy really.
Seriously - I think a junior in Electrical Engineering (with a minor in software programming) could design a clock (it's just a damn clock) that could be easily reset (i.e. Stop the game, get the clock keeper to do a CTRl-ALT-DEL), re-enter the correct time for everyone to see, have a duplicate system that is waiting in the wings, and get the stadium clock synced up with the correct time BEFORE THE NEXT Play IS RUN.
Maybe that should have been in the original post.. Dunno..
