Spike the ball to stop the clock

[Rich]

When an IW sounds, why does the clock stop?

Because of the inadvertent whistle.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Rich

When an IW sounds, why does the clock stop?

Because of the inadvertent whistle.

Then maybe you could straighten me out in a way I could answer a question just posed at DumCoach re repeated-down situations.

My understanding of the phrase in 3-4-2 "if the clock was stopped on a down beginning with a snap" refers to the original down, in cases where the down is repeated. 2-7-1 defines a down as from put-in-play to dead ball, but when 5-2-2 refers to "the number of the next down", for purposes of 3-4 does that mean if the down is repeated due to penalty, or, more to the point, according to 4-2-3 following an IW (which refers to a down's being "replayed"), does that mean clock status is the same as for the down that was replayed?

In other words, is the qualifying "if the clock was stopped" in 3-4-2 referring to the situation once the IW occurred, or to the clock status before the play on which the IW occurred? Seems also to depend on the meaning of "on" in "on a down".