NFL overtime inferior to college version

They can’t figure out that computers don’t watch the games, conference title games should be unified, the two-team-per-conference rule is flat-out dumb, the six automatic bid system is even dumber and no one likes calling it Football Bowl Subdivision. But to their credit, the college football masterminds have one thing figured out better than Roger Goodell and their professional counterparts. It’s got nothing to do with postseason and everything to do with post-four quarters.

Overtime.

Unlike in the NFL, the NCAA gives each team a fair chance to actually win the game following 60 minutes of hard-fought football. What a novel idea. First, one team gets the ball on the 25-yard line, then the second team gets the ball on the – yup, you guessed it, the same 25-yard line on the same end of the field. It truly is an amazingly innovating phenomenon, isn’t it?

The Sunday version is a bit different. Winning the fifth-quarter coin toss is like winning Goodell’s short-term vesion of David Stern’s lottery. Unless you’re Matt Hasselbeck, say, “We want the ball and we’re going to score,” then throw a pick-six to Crystal Crowns’ favorite Packer, Al Harris to end your season. Or you’re former Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg, win the toss, take the windless side of the field instead of the ball, watch Jim Miller and the Bears march down the field and win on a Paul Edinger field goal.

Of course, winning the overtime coin toss doesn’t guarantee you a victory. In fact, according to ESPN’s John Clayton, the team that wins the toss wins the game on the first OT possession less than 50 percent of the time. Still, I’ve seen it enough; what happened Thursday night shouldn’t be allowed to happen again.

The Jets-Patriots game was arguably the most exciting game of the season. Lifetime backup Matt (Tom Who?) Cassel leads New England back from the dead, hits Randy Moss on the side of the end zone with Patriot legend Ty Law draped all over him with one second left to tie the game at 31.

Then, the Jets win the toss, Favre nonchalantly leads them into field goal range and Jay Feely ends it with a 34-yard field goal. Cassel and Moss never see the field again.

Even for Jets fan, that had to be anti-climactic. It was like ending a Bond movie with an eyes-closed kiss and a bouquet of red roses. And yet, it didn’t compare to the stomach-aching finale that occurred three days later.

Ever seen a last-second Hail Mary after which nobody celebrates? It happens every once in a blue moon, a tad more often than safeties on back-to-back possessions, which happened here less than 24 hours before. Yes, I’m talking about a tie, a stalemate, words that make all competitors cringe worse than when Mark McGwire hears, “piss test.”

Sunday’s Bengals-Eagles matchup ended without a victor. Philadelphia now sits one-half game behind the Redskins and Cowboys at 5-4-1 for second place in the NFC East and 1-8-1 Cincinnati now sits with a stupid-looking record at the bottom of the AFC North.

After 75 minutes of football the game ended how it began. The players were left unsatisfied, the fans were left even more unsatisfied; a pointless ending to a now-pointless game. Stalemates are for chess. Ties should only come in tic-tac-toe.

College football is far from perfect; the BCS is a joke and yet only half as laughable as the mere existence of the Papajohns.com Bowl. But the NCAA does have one ‘A’ on its midterm report card. Goodell should be asking for its notes.

Derek is a junior majoring in economics. Your thoughts on football’s overtime? Send them to dzetlin@badgerherald.com.