AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 30
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Do you like shorter games?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech had just nine possessions against UVA.
One reason was the Cavaliers’ ability to control the ball (34:18 to 25:42 edge in time of possession).
Another reason is the change in NCAA rules.
Trying to shorten games, the NCAA this year changed the timing rule when a ballcarrier goes out of bounds. The game clock stops only temporarily now — it starts again on a signal from the referee. The only exceptions are the last two minutes of each half.
The other major change is the 40/25 second system. After a play ends, the offense has 40 seconds to snap the ball. The play clock is set at 25 seconds after injuries, penalties, change of possession and other administrative stoppages. In the past, offenses had 25 seconds to run a play, but the play clock didn’t start until the ref’s signal.
Taken together, the effect has been shorter games and fewer plays.
The NCAA News reported that games are averaging 3 hours, 8 minutes — compared to 3 hours, 22 minutes last year. And the total number of plays has dropped from 143 to 135.
CPJ came out against the rule changes before the season. He hasn’t wavered.
“What it does is it takes plays out of the game, and more so for teams that run the ball,” he said Wednesday. “The clock still stops on incomplete passes but it doesn’t stop anymore when a runner is out of bounds. We’re not as efficient here on offense either by a long way this year, but we’re probably running 10, 15 less plays a game.”
I remember when the NFL changed its out-of-bounds clock rule, and I hated it b/c it meant less football. (Though the NFL actually stops the clock the last 5 minutes of the game, not just the last 2).
Now the NCAA has followed suit. The changes aren’t as bad as the ones the NCAA instituted two years ago, which were deemed too drastic and overturned.
But fans are still getting less football for their money.
Do you want to go back to the old rules, or do you like shorter games?
