One of the top discussions each season and into the offseason revolve around the pace of play in college football. How can we shorten some games that seem to run longer?
One reason has to do with television. How often are you waiting for your team’s game to start but being forced to watch the final minutes of the game in the earlier television slot? Most fans are quick to point out they are ready to see their team play. There might be light at the end of the tunnel according to one insider.
Per Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, there is a quartet of rules that executives are considering to shorten games.
The first is one that I am a big proponent of, prohibiting consecutive timeouts. More often than not this is used when trying to ice kickers. This would certainly speed up the game and keeps most fans happy.
Secondly, we have the proposed rule of change of no longer having an untimed down at the end of the first or third quarters on a defensive penalty. Essentially the down would begin at the start of the next quarter.
The third rule would make a larger difference to the speed of a game. No longer stopping the clock after a first down is achieved with the exception of inside two minutes at the end of each half. For teams that move the ball quickly up and down the field, this could save a lot of time and remove some of these four-hour contests. Yes, I am looking at you Big 12.
The last rule would start the clock following an incomplete pass when the ball is ready for play. Not sure how they would approve this one, but it was among the four rule proposals reported by Dellenger.
Dellenger did point out that these have yet to be voted on, but it is interesting to see what changes could be coming down the pipe for the 2023 season.
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