The ball, dislodged by a wily Kentucky Wildcat, rolled downfield. 18 … 17 … 16. The gentleman in stripes doddered leisurely in pursuit, paused to gather himself before bending down (oh, these achy knees), scooped it up and lobbed it underhand to his partner. 13 … 12 … 11. The ball was spotted on the 27-yard line. No, wait a second, that’s not right. Let’s see here. Ah, the 28-yard line. Yeah, that’s the spot. 9 … 8 … 7.

As I watched the precious seconds disappear from the moment J’Mon Moore was tackled inbounds until Drew Lock spiked the ball with three seconds left, I got the feeling the Southeastern Conference officiating entrance exam doesn’t include a three-cone drill. I also got the feeling that if the football gods help those who help themselves, throwing a 1-yard pass with less than 30 seconds left and no timeouts remaining was placing too much faith in the officials’ powers of observation and motivation.