The end of the college football bowl season leaves us with a number of in-game situations which cry out for better rules and procedures in the sport. One obvious example is the 2023 set of substitution rules.
This happened in a number of bowl games over the past few weeks, and it needs to be viewed as a flawed reality: The offensive team substitutes a player. The defense, which is entitled to substitute as well if the offense makes a change, waits to bring in its new player. The officials stand over the ball or in front of the quarterback so that the ball cannot be snapped. By the time the defense completes its substitution, the play clock is down to zero. The offensive team either has to eat a five-yard delay-of-game penalty or call a precious timeout.
There’s no reason for this procedure to continue in 2024. If the defense substitutes late, the offense shouldn’t have to burn a timeout if it wants to prevent a penalty. The play clock should be reset to 15 seconds.
If anyone thinks the offense should pay a price for substituting late, college football could consider a 10-second runoff in the final two minutes of each half. Another idea: a two-yard penalty instead of a five-yard penalty. Ultimately, the current implementation of the rule carries a level of severity not warranted by the situation.
We will see if this rule gets changed for 2024.
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