CRAWFORD | Hot mic in the replay booth? A smart step for the ACC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If the SEC and Big Ten have seen their television revenues take off like rockets, the ACC has been treading water in a lifeboat in shark-infested seas.

Some of us — all right, me — have been urging the league to get more creative with its football broadcasts. On Monday, came a report that the ACC is finally moving in that direction.

They're going to put a microphone in the replay booth.

Think about that.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

The ACC is (correctly) acknowledging that it needs more than football to sell a little TV sizzle.

Clemson at Louisville is nice. But a hot mic on a middle-aged man staring at freeze-frames of a toe on turf is even better.

That's the plan.

Starting this season, the ACC and ESPN will air the live audio of replay reviews. Meaning, for the first time in college football history, we'll hear exactly what officials are saying as they pause the game, disappear into the box, and return with a ruling guaranteed to enrage half the stadium.

It's transparency. It's innovation. It's the rare chance to hear a man say, "Let's take another look at the left foot," six times in 4K.

I give the ACC credit. We're all just sitting there waiting anyway. Why not let fans in on the discussion?

At least it's something. If you can't land a splashy new member or renegotiate your media rights deal, mic'ing up the guys in stripes and letting Matt Austin try to explain it all in real time is a start.

I'm here for it. We're all here for it.

Credit David Teel of the Virginian-Pilot for breaking the story. Teel's a serious journalist — which is good, because this kind of idea needs one.

They tested the concept late last season, after two confusing Miami games featured critical replay decisions with little real-time explanation. One was a walk-off Hail Mary from Virginia Tech that was overturned after a lengthy review. The other involved a potential targeting penalty against Miami that was waved off late in a comeback win over Cal.

Both moments left fans, coaches, and even broadcasters scrambling for answers

So the ACC and ESPN asked a question: What if fans could actually hear the deliberation?

What they came up with was essentially C-SPAN: Command Center Edition.

I applaud the effort. Seriously. The ACC hasn't exactly been a model of clarity when it comes to officiating or media strategy. And the truth is, its games often get swallowed whole by the hype surrounding the biggest SEC or Big Ten matchups of the weekend.

A little surround-sound from Charlotte isn't going to fix that. But it's a step.

Maybe hearing the conversation will make it all make sense. Maybe fans will say, "Ah, yes — targeting was rescinded because the defender's crown was angled three degrees off-center after all."

Or maybe they'll just hear what we've all long suspected: That nobody really knows what the rule is, and everybody's just hoping the angles are too inconclusive to overturn it.

Either way, it'll be compelling television.

And in the ACC these days, that's as important as anything.