? about new NCAA 40 second clock
 

Does this eliminate stopping the clock on first downs to set the chains? If not, how will this be handled?

The play clock and the time clock are still independent of each other. Previously, a first down (or any play) out of bounds still had the 25 start on the ready, though the time clock was off. You can still have the 40 start at the end of a play that gains the first down. The only question is, what is the mechanic. Is the umpire the one that's going to initiate a 40 second clock start? The other problem is, what if the R isn't able to blow the ready, for whatever reason, with the 40 second clock in its waning seconds?

Honestly, in my games as R, this may slow things down. It doesn't take us 15 seconds to unpile, spot, and blow a ready. Especially on plays ending in the flat. I try to work pretty fast.

So for example, a run up the middle reaches the line to gain. The game clock is stopped, while also the 40 second clock is starting for the next play. When the chains are set, what will happen? Will the R simply blow a "ready for play" for the sole purpose of starting the game clock? (even thought the 40 second clock has already been running)

On a first down in college why would anything change?
The game clock is stopped and so would the play clock until the ball is marked ready for play.

RFP clock then starts at 25?

Yes

Sole purpose?! What about the purpose of informing the teams that the ball is RFP?

The WLAF was the first to adopt this type of play clock, initially at 35 secs., as an experiment for the NFL (which had been operating under the old 30 sec. rule that NCAA & Fed had shortened to 25) to observe. That proved too fast a pace, but they liked the concept so the NFL adopted a 45 sec. rule, later shortened to 40 sec., keeping 30 sec. (later shortened to 25) in cases of unusual delay readying the ball for play (establishing the neutral zone, as they refer to the procedure in the NFL).

All this does is trade variation in time off the game clock (under conditions where the clock runs between downs) for variation in time a team is allowed in which to play the ball. Looked at one way, team A still has a deadline by which to put the ball in play (and they can still huddle and otherwise confer while the ball is being readied), but on the other hand, the amount of time between when they're first allowed to play the ball and that deadline will vary instead of being fixed. Team A then has some of the time coming off their limit while there's nothing they can do about it. Something like the 2 Million Dollar Question in the quiz show, You Don't Know Jack, where they deduct from the prize for the amount of time it took to answer the question -- the time starting when m.c. Paul Ruben started reading the question, and then they always had some gimmick to prevent him from reading it in a reasonable amount of time, so it would wind up being answered correctly for $1.17 or whatever.

Robert

I like the timing change. If nothing else, it ought to make my JC games go even faster than they normally do. The only thing missing is the elimination of the clock stopping on a first down. Hopefully, that will only be another year or two away.