[Bob M.]

REPLY: Coach...I have no dog in this hunt, and I have no real opinion on the A11 one way or the other. I was just pointing out that the rulesmakers constantly tweak their rules to ensure that balance is maintained.

Like Mike said, the numbering rules and eligibility rules were originally set up to ensure that the defense could reasonably determine which offensive players were eligible. The scrimmage kick formation was put in to allow the kicking team to have faster players on their coverage teams without using those silly pullover jerseys they used to use. It was not intended to be used for scrimmage plays. The NCAA rulesmakers accounted for that by saying it can only be used when it "...is obvious that a kick may be attempted." Therefore, you generally won't have a scrimmage kick formation on any down other than fourth in an NCAA game. As you well know, the Federation put no such restriction on its use. That doesn't mean they ever intended scrimmage kick formations to be used in regular scrimmage downs. But the Fed rules as written currently allow that.

As for your wish that the Fed keep football pure in its truest sense, I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but I would hate to think that you would have them refrain from changing rules to keep the game equitable for both offense and defense.