The NCAA Football Rules Committee on Friday formally announced a series of proposals aimed at speeding up football games.
The Playing Rules Oversight Panel will vote on the proposals on April 20. If approved, the changes would go into effect for the 2023 season.
The proposals have been public knowledge for some time now:
-- Continue to run the clock after first downs, except in the final two minutes of each half.
-- Eliminate the ability to call consecutive timeouts, most commonly utilized in "icing the kicker" situations
-- Carry over penalties on the final play of the first and third quarters to the following frame, instead of immediately playing untimed downs.
Noticeably missing from the proposal, though, was the suggestion to wind the clock after the ball was set for play on incomplete passes.
As was suggested on the FootballScoop podcast earlier this week, either idea was intentionally offered as a give-back, where the officials involved knew it wouldn't pass, but wanted to make the NFL-style rule of running the clock after first downs seem tame by comparison, or the reaction was so overwhelmingly negative that the Football Rules Committee chose not to move forward with it.
Either way, it's not on the docket for possible changes.
"This rule change is a small step intended to reduce the overall game time and will give us some time to review the impact of the change," said Kirby Smart, co-chair of the committee.
Additionally, the FRC approved the optional use of instant replay in games that do not have a designated in-booth replay official. The Division II Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association successfully used the pilot program in 2022, and would allow the use of replay in games without a major TV presence.
The FRC also offered the following clarifications:
- Establishing guidelines for second-half warmup activities, including requiring teams to wait until the field is made available to return and having designated areas of the field to warm up.
- When teams are on the field, drones are not allowed over the playing surface or the team area.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.