Rule changes this season

[blur2005]

I was reading Ivan Maisel's 3-Point Stance on the college football section at ESPN.com (http://espn.com) and apparently there are a couple rule changes this year, both intended to shorten games.

1. The clock starts on the actual kick-off, rather than when the ball is caught during kick-offs.
2. The clock will also start on a change of possession once the ball is spotted.

I personally am not a fan of the second one, and don't really like the first either.

[Tribe4SF]

Isn't halftime cut to 15 minutes this year, from 20?

It will be a race to the tailgate and back!!:eek:

I don't understand the need to try to speed up the game. College games have never seemed to drag. It's a total experience.....why try to shorten it?:confused:

[MR. CHICKEN]

IFIN' YER ON DUH SHORT END O' UH BILL & MARE SCALPIN'.......DUH FOURTH QUARTER SEEMS LIKE........."ETERNITY"........:(.......AWK!


VILLANOVA MARCHIN' WILDCAT BAND....CAN MAKE HALF-TIME....SEEM LIKE......UH....."SENATE FLOOR..FILABUSTER"....AH LIKEN DERE SOUND....TA UH....GORILLA.....BANGIN' ON...KITCHEN POTS AN' PANS!.....:nod:xlolx:rotateh:xlolx:nod:.....BAWK!

[89Hen]

I don't understand the need to try to speed up the game. College games have never seemed to drag. It's a total experience.....why try to shorten it?:confused:
Agreed, this is an F'ing joke. The only reason that games drag on are the TV timeouts. :nonono2:

[GannonFan]

I think teams have options around that halftime timing - if both teams agree, it can be extended past 15 minutes. For schools with marching bands I wouldn't be surprised if it's common to go past 15 minutes.

I don't mind the clock starting on the kick rule - it's not a big deal and there's no real impact. I don't like that second rule, with the clock starting on the spot after a change in possession. Again, I'm not sure where this belief is coming from that college football games are going too long. The only ones I know that are too long are Notre Dame home games shown on NBC because NBC needs to fill every hour with about 45 minutes of commercials. Other than that, I like the length of games.

[blur2005]

These rules are obviously meant mostly for the big D-IA schools to speed up their games on television. But this has an effect everywhere else, too, which makes it pretty dumb in my opinion. The second rule is particularly bad.

[TypicalTribe]

These two rules are ridiculous. How about not stopping the clock to move the chains after 1st downs unless it's in the last 5 minutes of a half?

[walliver]

These new rules are rediculous.

1) Starting the clock when the ball is kicked will save 4-5 seconds per kickoff - not a great savings. On the other hand, teams can now burn off the clock with a final kickoff (Go ahead with 4 seconds left, have your kicker kick a high pooch lick and the game is over).

2) Starting the clock with a change of possession once the ball is started won't make a big difference for TV games with TV timeouts (or radio timeouts for that matter). How many D-I games (I-A or I-AA) aren't broadcast on radio? It will, however, allow the offense to burn an extra 25 seconds off the clock. This will change strategy late in the fourth quarter when deciding whether to go on 4th down or punt and hope the defense can stop your opponent 3 and out.

If the NCAA wants to speed up the game, they can run the clock after first downs as TypicalTribe suggests, or they can restart the clock after the ball is set after an interception (except for the last several minutes of each half).

These rules will not speed up the game significantly, but the second rule will significantly change the strategy of the game.

[Pard4Life]

These new rules are rediculous.

1) Starting the clock when the ball is kicked will save 4-5 seconds per kickoff - not a great savings. On the other hand, teams can now burn off the clock with a final kickoff (Go ahead with 4 seconds left, have your kicker kick a high pooch lick and the game is over).

2) Starting the clock with a change of possession once the ball is started won't make a big difference for TV games with TV timeouts (or radio timeouts for that matter). How many D-I games (I-A or I-AA) aren't broadcast on radio? It will, however, allow the offense to burn an extra 25 seconds off the clock. This will change strategy late in the fourth quarter when deciding whether to go on 4th down or punt and hope the defense can stop your opponent 3 and out.

If the NCAA wants to speed up the game, they can run the clock after first downs as TypicalTribe suggests, or they can restart the clock after the ball is set after an interception (except for the last several minutes of each half).

These rules will not speed up the game significantly, but the second rule will significantly change the strategy of the game.

Excellent points.. Strategy will undoubtedly be compromised. I am more annoyed with the kickoff time change due to running out the clock at the end of the game.

The true culprit is of course TV. How many times do I see Lafayette standing around on the field waiting for the TV timeout to end???? Like 5-6 times!! Insane.. Huddling is one thing.. but standing around waiting is another.

[OL FU]

Maybe a stupid question but....:rolleyes:
How many seconds is the ball in the air on a kickoff? 4, 3
If you kick the ball out of bounds, the clock starts when you kick and stops when the ball goes out of bounds? Realizing the game can't end on that type of penalty, you could effectively run the clock out and stop the possibility of a long run back if single digit seconds are left in the game. Right?

[89Hen]

These two rules are ridiculous. How about not stopping the clock to move the chains after 1st downs unless it's in the last 5 minutes of a half?
I would actually like to see the NFL institute stopping the clock for 1st downs inside of 5 or 2 minutes. :nod:

[walliver]

Maybe a stupid question but....:rolleyes:
How many seconds is the ball in the air on a kickoff? 4, 3
If you kick the ball out of bounds, the clock starts when you kick and stops when the ball goes out of bounds? Realizing the game can't end on that type of penalty, you could effectively run the clock out and stop the possibility of a long run back if single digit seconds are left in the game. Right?

If the ball goes out of bounds on the kick-off and the clock expires, the ball would be placed on the 35 yard line. Since this is a penalty, and the game can't end on a penalty. The offense would then have one shot from their own 35 for a hail mary.

[AppGuy04]

These 2 rules will shave maybe 5 minutes off the game, seems a little stupid to me

[OL FU]

If the ball goes out of bounds on the kick-off and the clock expires, the ball would be placed on the 35 yard line. Since this is a penalty, and the game can't end on a penalty. The offense would then have one shot from their own 35 for a hail mary.

Which was my point. Most would rather give the opponent one shot from the 35 than a kick off return, correct?

[BigDukeDawg]

not a bad idea FU

[VictorG]

Maybe a stupid question but....:rolleyes:
How many seconds is the ball in the air on a kickoff? 4, 3
If you kick the ball out of bounds, the clock starts when you kick and stops when the ball goes out of bounds? Realizing the game can't end on that type of penalty, you could effectively run the clock out and stop the possibility of a long run back if single digit seconds are left in the game. Right?


The end of the razaldazal (sp) play.:bawling: :bawling: :bawling:

[cosmo here]

Excellent points.. Strategy will undoubtedly be compromised. I am more annoyed with the kickoff time change due to running out the clock at the end of the game.

The true culprit is of course TV. How many times do I see Lafayette standing around on the field waiting for the TV timeout to end???? Like 5-6 times!! Insane.. Huddling is one thing.. but standing around waiting is another.

I despise both rule changes. :twocents:

however . . TV timeouts are necessary for the few I-AA schools that, like Lafayette, broadcast every game. no TV timeouts = fewer commercials = less revenue = no Lafayette game on TV. a minor inconvenience for the fans in the stadium, a huge benefit for the fans at home. Notre Dame . . that's another story.

[windwalker]

I wonder if the change of posession rule will be like it used to be. If the play that caused the change of posession made the clock stop, then the clock would start on the snap, otherwise, it will start with the ready for play whistle.

A few years ago, the High School rules changed to always starting the clock with the snap, and the rules committee said it would only lengthed the time of the game by 5 to 7 minutes. BUT... in a game where there are numerous changes of posessions, it has increased the game length about 15 to 20 minutes.

[HensRock]

These 2 rules will shave maybe 5 minutes off the game, seems a little stupid to me


These rules are there so that the TV networks can add 5 more minutes of commercials during the 3-hour timeslot to air the game. :mad: :bang:

[cosmo here]

These rules are there so that the TV networks can add 5 more minutes of commercials during the 3-hour timeslot to air the game. :mad: :bang:

The rules that stop the clock on kickoffs and after turnovers add time to the game, not the commercial format. The TV networks don't air commercials while the game is being played. :confused:

[89Hen]

Which was my point. Most would rather give the opponent one shot from the 35 than a kick off return, correct?
Dunno. I know that they never call interference on a hail mary but the chance is there that the defense commit a penalty on the final play. On a kickoff return the penalty is usually on the return team, so I'd still kick it deep and not let them have a play from scrimmage. :twocents:

[Proud Griz Man]

Is this going to cause about 5 or 6 less plays per game? :confused:

[OL FU]

Dunno. I know that they never call interference on a hail mary but the chance is there that the defense commit a penalty on the final play. On a kickoff return the penalty is usually on the return team, so I'd still kick it deep and not let them have a play from scrimmage. :twocents:

You did not see Furman's kick return coverage last year did you?:D

[89Hen]

You did not see Furman's kick return coverage last year did you?:D
You were 80th in return defense, but you still only let one go the distance all year.

[OL FU]

You were 80th in return defense, but you still only let one go the distance all year.

So maybe the idea is the following. Run the clock down by kicking out of bounds and then limit the number of plays from scrimmage because of the time used during the kickoff.

Do you keep a book of stats on your desk:confused::)

[HensRock]

The rules that stop the clock on kickoffs and after turnovers add time to the game, not the commercial format. The TV networks don't air commercials while the game is being played. :confused:

The network will still allocate a 3 hour block of time for the game. If it takes 5 minutes less to play the game, that's 5 minutes more of commercials. Yes?

[ButlerGSU]

Isn't halftime cut to 15 minutes this year, from 20?

It will be a race to the tailgate and back!!:eek:

I don't understand the need to try to speed up the game. College games have never seemed to drag. It's a total experience.....why try to shorten it?:confused:

You all can leave the stadium at halftime and then come back in?!?

[cosmo here]

The network will still allocate a 3 hour block of time for the game. If it takes 5 minutes less to play the game, that's 5 minutes more of commercials. Yes?

They allocate three hours, but when the game ends, it's over. They're not adding 15 or 30 seconds to every TV timeout to fill that space.

[HensRock]

They allocate three hours, but when the game ends, it's over. They're not adding 15 or 30 seconds to every TV timeout to fill that space.

Look at it from the network's perspective, not the Football fan's.
After the game is over they get to run commercials until the 3 hour block is over before the next show is due to come on.

[Pard4Life]

You all can leave the stadium at halftime and then come back in?!?

Every place I've been to except Princeton allows you to leave and comeback at the half. When I've been late to Lehigh regular season games I just wait out the first half so I don't have to pay $10... that's less money for their program in my eyes. Then, you can just walk right in and the ticket people don't check or care... plus they see me just standing at the fence no less.

[cosmo here]

Look at it from the network's perspective, not the Football fan's.
After the game is over they get to run commercials until the 3 hour block is over before the next show is due to come on.

Well, they'll throw it to the studio show until the next game, or the news, or whatever, and run commercials between that, but I don't think that's why they're instituting the rule changes. Either way, I still don't like them.