Will New Clock Rules Benefit Or Hinder Dodgeball?

[Baby Arm!]

College football’s play, game clocks will echo NFL’s

Chad Peters - Express-News

Thanks to a pair of rules changes that were approved in the offseason, college football's play and game clocks will more closely mirror the NFL's this fall. That could produce a faster-paced and shorter game, but could also lead to lower scores and fewer offensive plays.

A so-called “40/25”-second play clock will be implemented, while changes also will affect how the game clock operates when a player runs out of bounds.

Under the new play-clock rules, teams will have 40 seconds to snap the ball after a play is blown dead. Following administrative stops, such as change of possession and timeouts, teams will have 25 seconds. The old rule allowed teams 25 seconds for the snap once the official spotted the ball.

Texas coach Mack Brown said the play-clock alteration could force teams that call most of their plays in a huddle to adjust.

“We feel like if you're a conventional offense ... it's gonna cost you plays, no question,” Brown said. “You can probably gain some plays, even as fast as that clock will move now with the 40 seconds, if you go no-huddle. That's one of the real tough things we've got to study here.”

The other change in the rules involved the game clock, which keeps track of time in four, 15-minute quarters. This year, the clock will stop when a runner goes out of bounds, but will restart when the official marks the ball ready for play. Previously, the clock stopped when a runner went out of bounds and didn't restart until the next snap.

Under the new rules, two-minute offenses will be protected by the old rule. The changes — the third in as many years geared toward altering the length of games — drew mostly praise from Brown and Texas A&M's Mike Sherman.

Both were in San Antonio on Tuesday for the Texas High School Coaches Association's annual coaching school.

Sherman, in his first season at A&M after spending the past 11 years in the NFL, said he is comfortable with the 40-25 play clock because it mirrors NFL rules.

“Initially, college coaches may be a little bit nervous because of the clock ticking down, but I think it's going to give it more consistency in how the game's officiated,” Sherman said. “I think that was the intent more than anything else.”

The old rule allowed for a lack of uniformity in the time that officials took to spot the ball.

“There was such a variance between different crews with the (play) clock,” Sherman said. “This will just make it more even from crew to crew. That's really the only thing that I see.”

Brown said the change forced the Longhorns into experimentation with their offense during spring training.

“When we would huddle up in the spring and go by the 40-second clock, we were really close to delay of games if you broke the huddle on time and you got to the line of scrimmage and you tried to check,” he said. “I mean, you're in trouble. That's a huge effect on the offense.”

[UNTflyer]

I don't recall ever seeing a huddle last season, so I don't think it hurts Dodgeball.

[Mean Green Matt]

When they are saying the out of bounds rule stays in effect for two minute offenses do they mean at the end of each quarter, each half, each game? It sort of sounds like the Arena Leage clock rules, but does anyone know when the old rules will be in effect?

[jdennis82]

i guess we can assume it means the final two minutes of each half

[e-bone ver2.awesome]

I don't recall ever seeing a huddle last season, so I don't think it hurts Dodgeball.

Dodge calls plays after the offense is lined up. It's not an immediate line up and snap the ball. I'm sure that Dodge will adjust to this and make sure the play gets in quickly enough to avoid delays of game.

[Green Crazy]

Didn't we have a problem with delay of game penalties last season or at least cutting it real close a lot of the time?

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

--Well, one thing we definitely need is lower scores (by opponents). Maybe it will help that.

[Green Crazy]

Yes.

Since the play clock is basically like the NFL then the QB's and Head Coach's/OC's should have the one way headsets like the NFL.

[greenagain]

The only thing hurting dodgeball is not playing against a high school schedule.

[e-bone ver2.awesome]

The only thing hurting dodgeball is not playing against a high school schedule.

What were you before you were green again?