Football Rules Oversight Panel changes kickoff and game clock rules
Good magic shows always hinge on a quality disappearing act. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, although not a magician, recently took a stab at its own rendition of this timeless trick-and the outcome has been a hit.
Last season, the NCAA put in place a number of rules with the purpose of decreasing the length of football games. Now, two of those major timing changes will disappear next season.
The NCAA Football Rules Oversight Panel recently approved proposals to discard the two changes and revert the rules to what they were in 2005.
Rule 3-2-5 states that, during kickoffs, the game clock will start when the receiving team legally touches the ball in the field of play. The rule, adopted in 2006, started the clock as soon as the ball was kicked.
According to rule 3-2-5-e, the clock will once again start on the snap after a change in possession. The 2006 rule started the clock as soon as the referee signaled the ball ready for play.
CU football Head Coach Dan Hawkins is in favor of the decisions.
“I think (the 2006 rules) changed the whole complexion of the game, and it was very different from what we were all used to. I think it clearly altered a lot of games,” Hawkins said.
The rules never garnered much popularity from those around the game. Many coaches questioned the 2006 changes when they were announced, and even more complaints were made after the season began.
But CU had a responsibly to accept the rules and make the appropriate adjustments, Hawkins said.
“The speed limit may be 65, 55 or 35, and people ask me, ‘What do you think about that?’ And I tell them, ‘It really does not matter what I think because that is just the rule and you follow the rules,'” Hawkins said. “I’m just one of those guys, and that is how it went with that decision. It was a rule, and we were going to have to abide by it just like everyone else.”
The committee hoped to reduce game times by an average of about 14 minutes during the 2006 season. It came at a price, as critical factors suffered.
The Buffs lost 12-14 plays a game last season, and the rule often removed the potential for late-game heroics for all teams, Hawkins said.
“It did inhibit the creativity and the chance for an offense to take more shots or gambles because you had fewer opportunities, and you need to make sure you are smart with the ones that you do have,” Hawkins said.
Some teams even reported opponents abusing the rules by delaying play in order to intentionally drain the clock.
While this year’s decisions will likely lengthen games again, the NCAA and the rules panel have worked to produce other measures in hopes of controlling game times more appropriately.
For example, the kickoff line will be moved to the 30-yard line as opposed to the 35. The regulation, which matches that of the NFL, should result in more returns.
The new rules will also limit charged team timeouts and the play clock during televised games only. One decision will limit the play clock from 25 seconds to 15 following commercial timeouts. Also during televised games, a team timeout will last only 30 seconds plus the 25-second play clock interval.
The football rules committee withdrew its proposal to alter the amount of time allotted for replay reviews.
