What proposed rules could mean for college football

There are some proposed rule changes that could have a huge impact on college football and the clock and here’s what it could mean for next season. 

If you have ever complained about a college football game lasting for four hours, then some of the powers that be might have a solution for you.

According to a report from Sports Illustrated, college football executives are working on a number of proposed rule changes that would address the clock and reduce the number of plays in a game.

There are four changes total that would go into effect for the 2023 college football season. One of them is that coaches would no longer be allowed to call consecutive timeouts.

It’s been a rule in the NFL for years and if you take one back-to-back, your team is assessed a 15-yard penalty. I’m not opposed to it, but the truth is that it would have very little impact on college football games lasting too long.

Another proposed rule change would be not allowing untimed downs due to penalties at the end of the first and third quarters, which frankly makes sense.

The proposed college football rule changes that would make an impact

There are two other rules that would truly change college football in terms of how quickly the clock moves. The first down rule was changed some years ago. The clock stops now until the ball is set after a first down, while it used to stop until the chains were set.

However, this new proposal would go with the NFL rule, at least for most of the game. The clock would still stop in the final two minutes after a first down until the ball was set.

This, to me, is a really good idea. It would cut time off the clock and would have minimal impact on the game. The other change being proposed is to allow the clock to run after an incomplete pass, once the ball is set, but I’m not a huge fan of that.

That’s a massive change and would probably lead to even fewer plays in college football games than what we normally see in the NFL. We’ll see what winds up happening, but college football fans, at least the ones wanting shorter games, are likely going to get their wish.