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My Opinion (like a Butt, Everyone Had one)
My opinion. This is an excellent question even using Federation rules. The General Instructions for Football Clock Operators doesn't give any solid answers.
Here are the instructions directly from the Nat Fed website.
Game procedures:
1. The clock operator is an integral member of the officiating crew and game administration. Unfair
advantages occur when the game clock is not started or stopped correctly by rule. Great care must be
exercised to see that no time lag occurs in starting or stopping the clock.
2. On all free kicks, the nearest official(s) will signal the legal touching of the ball by indicating that the clock
should start.
3. The official who declares the ball dead will be the first official to signal a time-out when a first down
occurs.
4. Any official may signal a team time-out; therefore, the operator should be alert to stop the clock.
5. On plays near a boundary line, unless an official so signals, if a pass is caught out of bounds, the
incompletion signal will stop the clock. Note: On plays near the out-of-bounds line and in advance of the
line to gain, an official may give a winding signal to indicate the ball is inbounds and follow it by a
stop-the-clock signal for an apparent first down. Be alert for both signals.
6. The clock operator will automatically stop the clock following a touchdown, field goal, touchback or safety
after the appropriate signal has been made.
7. After the clock has been stopped, the referee will start it again on the referees start-the-clock signal and
if no such signal is given, the operator will start it on the snap.
8. The referee may start the clock again before the ready-for-play signal.
9. The try is not a timed down.
10. There are instances when a period shall be extended by an untimed down. During these extensions,
leave the clock at :00. Do not reset the clock for the next period until the referee declares the period over
by facing the press box and holding the ball overhead.
Leave it up to the officials to kill the clock. Do so on their signal. If there is a timing error as a result of a delayed signal, the officials can correct it.
But I can also see the other side of this issue.
[Edited by mikesears on Dec 27th, 2001 at 12:26 PM]
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