Overtime - Keep or Change?

[Cobblestone]

What's the feeling around here about the NCAA OT rule? Would you like to see it stay or get trashed in favor of sudden-death like the NFL does?

I don't like the OT NCAA style. It messes with the rules and takes away from the traditional playing of the game. I'd be all for doing exactly what the NFL does. Some might argue that the game is won on a coin toss if done that way. My feeling is if your defense isn't good enough to stop the opposing offense or force a turnover then your team does not deserve to win. I hope eventually the NCAA does it this way.

How do others feel?

Discuss...

[AshevilleApp2]

I like the OT the way it is. If you're in an offensive shootout, the coin toss could very well be the deciding factor.

[nwFL Griz]

I don't see how anyone could argue that the NFL overtime is better than the NCAA. In the NFL, everything hinges on the coin-toss.

I actually hope the NFL adopts the NCAA way.

Either that, or they both adopt the silver goal method that FIFA sometimes uses.

[AmsterBison]

I love the NCAA way of settling ties.

[TexasTerror]

NCAA overtimes are great! They are very enjoyable to watch, especially when they reach the point when the teams are forced to go for a two-point conversion...

[MplsBison]

Which should be the whole game.

[bobbythekidd]

I don't see how anyone could argue that the NFL overtime is better than the NCAA. In the NFL, everything hinges on the coin-toss.

I actually hope the NFL adopts the NCAA way.

Either that, or they both adopt the silver goal method that FIFA sometimes uses.
What he said. Discussion over.

[813Jag]

Could be worse, it could be like high school. At least here in Florida you have to start on the 10 yardline.

[UAalum72]

Like it the way it is, except start further back so you have to make at least one first down before getting into reasonable field goal range

[MaximumBobcat]

NFL overtimes are HORRIBLE.

I want the NFL to switch to NCAA rules, so I guess me and the OP are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

[GOKATS]

I hate 'sudden death' and wish the NFL would go to the NCAA OT system, it's much better and more fair.

[Touchdown Yosef]

I am for the NCAA OT.

[FargoBison]

I can't stand NFL overtimes, they are terrible. The only change I would make is move the ball back to the 40 yard line.

[Ronbo]

The NCAA OT messes up the scoring averages. You get 48-45 scores when the 4th quarter ended at 28-28. They should require two point conversions immediately to avoid 3 and 4 OT's.

Field Goals OK, extra point kicks no. Most games would be settled in 1 overtime with a few going to 2.

[MaximumBobcat]

The NCAA OT messes up the scoring averages. You get 48-45 scores when the 4th quarter ended at 28-28. They should require two point conversions immediately to avoid 3 and 4 OT's.

Field Goals OK, extra point kicks no. Most games would be settled in 1 overtime with a few going to 2.

Why do you want less football? xconfusedx xconfusedx xconfusedx

[AppGrad06]

Sudden death in football is the most retarded thing I have seen in sports. Sure sudden death works in hockey were the play is back and forth, but in football if a team is at the 25 they ought to be able to score at least 3. To not allow the other team a chance to score if they can't stop what ought to be a sure thing is insane.

[Bison05]

I cant see how anyone could be in favor of the NFL OT. Its way to easy to win a game with a FG. I do agree with other on this board that they need to move the ball back but other than that I love the way the NCAA does OT.

[SideLine Shooter]

What's the feeling around here about the NCAA OT rule? Would you like to see it stay or get trashed in favor of sudden-death like the NFL does?

I don't like the OT NCAA style. It messes with the rules and takes away from the traditional playing of the game. I'd be all for doing exactly what the NFL does. Some might argue that the game is won on a coin toss if done that way. My feeling is if your defense isn't good enough to stop the opposing offense or force a turnover then your team does not deserve to win. I hope eventually the NCAA does it this way.

How do others feel?

Discuss...


NCAA way works. NFL way sux!!!!:D

[OLDMAIN80]

NCAA way works. NFL way sux!!!!:D

Dittoxcoolx

[I-AA Fan]

No, the NFL OT is the worst excuse for sportsmanship that I have ever seen. Choices in order of my personal preferences:

1. Eliminate OT all together. A tie ...so what? Of course post-season and conference championships (NS and IA).

2. Drop kicking all together in the OT periods.

3. Keep it exactly as it is.

[Rob Iola]

No, the NFL OT is the worst excuse for sportsmanship that I have ever seen. Choices in order of my personal preferences:

1. Eliminate OT all together. A tie ...so what? Of course post-season and conference championships (NS and IA).

2. Drop kicking all together in the OT periods.

3. Keep it exactly as it is.
Hmm - you inadvertently (sp?) touched on what could be a spectacularly old-school improvement on the current NCAA OT approach - bring back the drop kick for all FGs and extra points!

[Monarch History]

I despise the NFL's OT! xnonono2x

I agree with those who want to keep the NCAA’s OT but move the ball further back.xthumbsupx

[Appaholic]

Keep as is or move ball farther back. Also, I would not be opposed to having a sudden death if FG were eliminated....have to win by offensive or defensive TD.....

[AZGrizFan]

What's the feeling around here about the NCAA OT rule? Would you like to see it stay or get trashed in favor of sudden-death like the NFL does?

I don't like the OT NCAA style. It messes with the rules and takes away from the traditional playing of the game. I'd be all for doing exactly what the NFL does. Some might argue that the game is won on a coin toss if done that way. My feeling is if your defense isn't good enough to stop the opposing offense or force a turnover then your team does not deserve to win. I hope eventually the NCAA does it this way.

How do others feel?

Discuss...


Actually, I wish the NFL would go to the NCAA type OT rules. I think it's patently unfair that one team's offense routinely never gets a shot. xcoolx

[UNHWildCats]

the NFL should just play a full 15:00 OT period.

[UDChE89]

Sudden death in football is the most retarded thing I have seen in sports. Sure sudden death works in hockey were the play is back and forth, but in football if a team is at the 25 they ought to be able to score at least 3. To not allow the other team a chance to score if they can't stop what ought to be a sure thing is insane.


Hockey plays a shortened period (5 mins, I think) for OT. If it's still tied, it's a shootout. Not quite like the NFL and not quite like the NCAA but still a pretty good solution.

[brownbear]

I like the NFL way in that you still play like in any other possession during the game, but I think the coin toss is unfair. NCAA OT is entirely reliant on red-zone offense, which is completely different from the rest of the game.

My solution is to keep it like the NFL, but each team gets at least one possession. If Team A wins the coin toss and scores a touchdown, Team B has a chance to match it. After that, it is sudden death, everyone has had at least one shot on offense, so it is fair.

[mountaineertider]

I think the NCAA should go to a 5-8 minute overtime period to break ties. If the teams are tied at the end of this then they should play the same rules as they have now, except start at the 50.

[Poly Pigskin]

I like the NFL way in that you still play like in any other possession during the game, but I think the coin toss is unfair. NCAA OT is entirely reliant on red-zone offense, which is completely different from the rest of the game.

My solution is to keep it like the NFL, but each team gets at least one possession. If Team A wins the coin toss and scores a touchdown, Team B has a chance to match it. After that, it is sudden death, everyone has had at least one shot on offense, so it is fair.

I think this is the best all around solution. The only difference I would make is that instead of going sudden death after they trade scores, I would always allow the team that lost the coin toss to have a chance to answer. That way they would always have the same number of possessions, and the coin toss is eliminated as a deciding factor.

[bjtheflamesfan]

Someone mentioned the way FIFA does OT (silver goal) would someone mind explaining that?

BTW I prefer the NCAA OT rule over NFL OT

[JoltinJoe]

I like the NFL way in that you still play like in any other possession during the game, but I think the coin toss is unfair. NCAA OT is entirely reliant on red-zone offense, which is completely different from the rest of the game.

My solution is to keep it like the NFL, but each team gets at least one possession. If Team A wins the coin toss and scores a touchdown, Team B has a chance to match it. After that, it is sudden death, everyone has had at least one shot on offense, so it is fair.

I agree with this 100%.

The NCAA overtime is not a football game. It's an aspect of a football game, as you point out.

If you're playing a football game, then you should play a football game all the way to the end to decide the winner.

The current NCAA system is like playing a game of chess to a draw, and then playing checkers to determine the winner. Hey, it's a similar game played on the same board -- why not?

[nwFL Griz]

Someone mentioned the way FIFA does OT (silver goal) would someone mind explaining that?

BTW I prefer the NCAA OT rule over NFL OT

Silver goal is played with two OT periods (I believe 5 min each), change ends after first five, but no break. Winner is the team with highest score at the end of second 5 min period.

So basically for football, play one or two abbreviated OT periods. However they would have to accept a tie in some cases. And I believe the reason OT was implemented was to eliminate ties.

[UNHWildCats]

Silver goal is played with two OT periods (I believe 5 min each), change ends after first five, but no break. Winner is the team with highest score at the end of second 5 min period.

So basically for football, play one or two abbreviated OT periods. However they would have to accept a tie in some cases. And I believe the reason OT was implemented was to eliminate ties.
with soccer and hockey abbreviated OTs are fine cause the action goes back and forth, i think with football you would have to do a full 15:00 OT period to allow the chance for both teams to atleast have it once.

As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see the NFL play a full OT session instead of first score.

[nwFL Griz]

with soccer and hockey abbreviated OTs are fine cause the action goes back and forth, i think with football you would have to do a full 15:00 OT period to allow the chance for both teams to atleast have it once.

As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see the NFL play a full OT session instead of first score.

I tend to agree with you about the length, I was just throwing out some alternate suggestions.....not saying I think any of them would work.

[The Moody1]

I like the NFL way in that you still play like in any other possession during the game, but I think the coin toss is unfair. NCAA OT is entirely reliant on red-zone offense, which is completely different from the rest of the game.

My solution is to keep it like the NFL, but each team gets at least one possession. If Team A wins the coin toss and scores a touchdown, Team B has a chance to match it. After that, it is sudden death, everyone has had at least one shot on offense, so it is fair.


This proposal has been brought up at several NFL owners meetings but hasn't had enough support for approval.

[lizrdgizrd]

The NCAA OT messes up the scoring averages. You get 48-45 scores when the 4th quarter ended at 28-28. They should require two point conversions immediately to avoid 3 and 4 OT's.

Field Goals OK, extra point kicks no. Most games would be settled in 1 overtime with a few going to 2.

I like this idea. xnodx

[already123]

NCAA overtime is the best thing we got right now. If there are going to be any changes, I think we should push it back about 5 or 10 yards to make it a bit harder. But we should DEF under NOOO circumstances adopt the NFL over time...

[MplsBison]

The NCAA OT messes up the scoring averages. You get 48-45 scores when the 4th quarter ended at 28-28. They should require two point conversions immediately to avoid 3 and 4 OT's.

Field Goals OK, extra point kicks no. Most games would be settled in 1 overtime with a few going to 2.



Absolutely correct! There is no other way that the game should be played. Period! The whole game! Not just overtime.



Get rid of extra point kicks!



They slow the game down and they are meaningless.


Worst of all, the allow kickers to be the all time leading scorers! Unacceptable!

[appchuck]

No, the NFL OT is the worst excuse for sportsmanship that I have ever seen. Choices in order of my personal preferences:

1. Eliminate OT all together. A tie ...so what? Of course post-season and conference championships (NS and IA).

2. Drop kicking all together in the OT periods.

3. Keep it exactly as it is.


No No No on ties.

I agree with what some are saying about maybe moving it back to the 40 or even the 50. At lease the defense has to be part of the overtime.

And on doing away with the extra points, I like that idea, especially when Bobby Lamb is in Boone.xnodx

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

I like the NCAA the way it is.

If anything were to be changed I agree with no PAT.

[appchuck]

I feel also OT brings alot of excitement to the game. I really enjoy watching college overtime compared to NFL overtime.

There is also talk about just playing another 15 minutes. It still will come down to the coin toss. A good running team could take almost an entire quarter on one series, and would that be fair to the team that lost the coin toss?

[ngineer]

The current rule is fine. I hate the NFL rule that tips the scale on the coin flip.

[Go Cats]

Change only one aspect. Start at the 40. This makes the offense do more than a 3 and out to give a resonable chance at 3 points, and doesn't punish good defense. Others have mentioned getting rid of PATs in overtime. I disagree because they are part of a decision process by the coaching staff to go for 2 or 1. We have all seen games where this decision has put a W or an L in the column. We can't forget that coaching is part of the game as well.

[GOKATS]

In most cases the NFL method of OT might as well end at the coin toss- the team that wins the toss is awarded the game.

[appsfan]

I like the college OT the way it is. I also like the NFL OT rules, too. I would say there is no more exciting way to win (or more disappointing) a game than a big play in sudden death. As a Carolina Panthers fan, I have experienced both sides. While I agree that the team who wins the coin toss has an advantage, it is far from certain that the toss winnier wins the game. From 1974 to 2003 there were 365 NFL OT games. The coin toss winner wins 52% of the time. The toss loser wins 44% of the time (the other 4% ended in ties.) The toss winner won the game on the their first drive 28% of the time. I pulled the stats from the linked atricle which suggested a first to score 6 point approach could be better in the interest of "fairness."
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041106/mathtrek.asp

xreadx

[appsfan]

[QUOTE=appsfan;912257]I like the college OT the way it is. I also like the NFL OT rules, too. I would say there is no more exciting way to win (or more disappointing) a game than a big play in sudden death.

I meant to say there is not a more disappointing way to lose a game either than a big sudden death play.

[Eyes of Old Main]

From 1974 to 2003 there were 365 NFL OT games. The coin toss winner wins 52% of the time. The toss loser wins 44% of the time (the other 4% ended in ties.) The toss winner won the game on the their first drive 28% of the time.

Interesting stats, but over a relatively large sample size like that, an 8% advantage is pretty big.

[Eyes of Old Main]

I prefer the NCAA rules, but would start the drives on the 35 or 40 to force at least one first down to me made before being in field goal range.

[paward]

I like the rule just as it plays out. It is a fair system and only works against you if you lose. The NFL rule simply sucks face.

[TheBisonator]

The Canadian Football League has the ideal overtime system, IMO. It works like the NFL overtime, except it's not sudden death. It has a 15 minute clock. If the first team scores in OT, there's a regular kickoff and the second team has to match or beat it. If the second team matches it, the first team gets it back, and the teams play until one team outscores the other on sequential possesions. It's sometimes known as the "spelling bee overtime".

I think the NFL and NCAA need to adopt that.

[Tribe4SF]

Keep it. Fair and equitable system that creates alot of excitement.

[Cap'n Cat]

What he said. Discussion over.


Ditto.

[bobbythekidd]

Ditto.Are you still going to be here on Saturday?

[Cap'n Cat]

Are you still going to be here on Saturday?


Yes. Flying in Friday night.

[UMass922]

The NFL system is not ideal and could be easily improved, but I still prefer it to the NCAA system. I would rather just see another full, non-sudden-death period played, or perhaps a slightly shorter one of 10-12 minutes. But I've never had a huge problem with sudden death; as someone else has pointed out, when you look at the numbers, the idea that the coin-toss-winning team has a huge advantage is greatly exaggerated. I'd rather see a tweaked sudden-death format than the score- and stat-inflating circus that the NCAA uses.

[nwFL Griz]

The NFL system is not ideal and could be easily improved, but I still prefer it to the NCAA system. I would rather just see another full, non-sudden-death period played, or perhaps a slightly shorter one of 10-12 minutes. But I've never had a huge problem with sudden death; as someone else has pointed out, when you look at the numbers, the idea that the coin-toss-winning team has a huge advantage is greatly exaggerated. I'd rather see a tweaked sudden-death format than the score- and stat-inflating circus that the NCAA uses.

How is it exaggerated? I believe it was said earlier, quite correctly, that with the huge sampling size, 8% is a great statistical advantage.

Besides, who cares if the scores and stats are inflated by overtime? Isn't it better to have a game fairly decided, than to quibble about a team scoring three more touchdowns than they would have?

[bluehenbillk]

The NCAA system is light years better than the NFL. However, if you want to tweak it, maybe start at the 40 or midfield instead of the 25 I'm fine with that.

[UMass922]

How is it exaggerated? I believe it was said earlier, quite correctly, that with the huge sampling size, 8% is a great statistical advantage.

Besides, who cares if the scores and stats are inflated by overtime? Isn't it better to have a game fairly decided, than to quibble about a team scoring three more touchdowns than they would have?

I agree that eight percent is a significant enough statistical advantage that the format needs to be tweaked. It's just that the way some people fume about it, you'd think it was an 80% advantage. It's relatively minor, and can be simply corrected by guarranteeing the coin-toss-losing team a possession. I just prefer an overtime format that keeps the game as recognizable as possible, which, to me, means maintaining the balance among offense, defense, and special teams. The college format throws out that balance. While the college OT format can produce exciting finishes, it just feels a little too artificial to me. Fairness can be achieved without making the game more artificial.

[slostang]

The NCAA system is light years better than the NFL. However, if you want to tweak it, maybe start at the 40 or midfield instead of the 25 I'm fine with that.

I agree. It is good as it is, but maybe starting further back would make it less of a shoot out.

[blur2005]

NCAA OT > NFL OT, hands down.

With that being said, the NCAA's would be better if they'd start further back, like the 35 yard line.

[griz_fan_in_SanDiego]

NCAA is much better, as you said NFL is decided on a coin toss. It's not about whether or not your defense can stop them. Their defense might be just as inept as your in stopping your offense it's just you weren't lucky enough to call heads when you should have. Both teams deserve a chance at scoring.

[08Dawg]

Two of the most exciting football games I have ever seen have been between El Cid and Furman in overtime. Two years ago, we went into 3OT, which was an absolute thriller and an immense display of athleticism by both teams. Even though we lost, I really enjoyed it. We got our revenge this year, winning in OT, but again, it was a tremendous game. It was the kind of football game you wish every one of them was, one that has ups and downs. Both teams left everything on the field that day. With that experience, I say keep the NCAA OT as it is.

[WWII]

The only change I'd make was suggested in several posts. Move the starting point back 15-20 yards.