Timing error in NCG

[Altor]

This is something that irks my father as we watch our favorite NCAA D-III team. They stop the clock for a first down and then start it before the chains, or sometimes even the ball is spotted.

His argument is that the clock is stopped for the purpose of moving the chains. If you don't want to wait until the chains are set, just change the rule to not stop the clock at all.

Reading 3-3-2-e, it just says to start the clock on the referee's signal. It doesn't say that the ball should be ready for play, but I think most would assume it should be.

[jTheUmp]

We don't need to wait for the chains to be fully set... as soon as the down box is in place, we can start the clock. If we know it's 1st and 10 at the A-34, everybody knows the line-to-gain is the A-44.

My R usually waits till I spot the ball (as the U) before starting the clock, but will sometimes start it a bit earlier than that... usually in situations where it's taken an unusually long time to get the ball spotted.

[Welpe]

I've got to admit I did not know that the ball did not have to be ready for play for the clock to start. That's how I've always understood it and how we were taught in Texas to handle it. Time to go digging through the rules.

[Rich]

I've only work as the R in lower level NCAA games (mainly JV games), but as long as the offense wasn't running hurry-up, I'd start the game clock once the ball was reasonably close to being spotted on an out of bounds play. The 40 second clock is already running.

It's what I see on TV, too, in a lot of conferences at the D1 level.

In HS football, I don't wait on the chains. If I have a spot on a yard line (and I always do), I know where the chains are going. I'm not waiting.

[jTheUmp]

Next time you're watching a college game on TV, pay attention to how much time passes between the clock stopping on an OOB play or first down and how soon the game clock starts running again... (outside of 2 minutes in the half, of course)

In most cases, it's only about 5-7 seconds. If the R was waiting for the chains to set on a first down, it would probably take 15-20 seconds.

[BoomerSooner]

Originally Posted by Altor

Reading 3-3-2-e, it just says to start the clock on the referee's signal. It doesn't say that the ball should be ready for play, but I think most would assume it should be.

To me the problem here is that by itself 3-3-2-e supports the referee starting the game clock at his discretion, however looking at it by itself ignores references in the Approved Rulings that indicate that the referee's signal should follow the ball being made ready to play (which is defined in 2-2-4 and includes the ball being placed on the ground).

All of that said, I think officiating crews at the NCAA level have been instructed to start the game clock prior to the ball being ready for play to reduce the overall time of the game. I've noticed it before this season, but it seemed more consistent this year. I can't help but think schools and coaches were made aware of this directive and in general nobody worries about it when you lose a few seconds when there are still 14 minutes to go in the first quarter. With under a minute in either half, coaches will be struck with the blown gasket Dabo style syndrome when it happens. Personally, I'd like to see something concrete to assure that it is clear when the game clock will be started and have always thought the ball actually being ready for play was the best method.

[scrounge]

I'd say just eliminate the clock stopping on first down and be done with it altogether

[jpgc99]

Rogers Redding has commented on similar plays in the past. The NCAA philosophy is this: Outside of 1 minute, the clock should start quickly. Essentially once the umpire has the football and is in the general vicinity of where the ball will be spotted. Inside 1 minute, when a team is running hurry-up, the starting of the clock should be slow and deliberate. This gives the umpire time to spot the ball and get out of the way before the clock starts again.