Time limit for NCAA field goals?

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by jchamp

We're not playing Madden 20-whatever. So the clock operator doesn't have an electrical signal to know when the precise moment is that he should flip the switch.

Why can't he stop it on the whistle, like he does any other time?

[jchamp]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Why can't he stop it on the whistle, like he does any other time?

This also isn't basketball where every whistle causes the clock to stop (hence the electronic gadget that officials wear which stops the clock whenever it hears a whistle).

The clock only stops when the WH or a covering official makes a signal that kills the clock. Then the clock operator, who is in a booth probably about 300 feet away, has to observe that signal, ensure it IS indeed a signal that kills the clock, and flip his switch. He doesn't anticipate signals. And stopping a clock at 0:00.3 is a very quick way to earn the ire of an association.

It's just the culture of the game in these parts. George Carlin was wrong, BASKETBALL is rigidly timed. Football is loosely timed.

[HLin NC]

He doesn't anticipate signals.

I can think of one HS where he does

[jchamp]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

I can think of one HS where he does

Maybe I should have said "He shouldn't anticipate signals."

I also don't think that football should ever use 0.1 second clocks. You either have a second, or you don't. A play can't begin and end in less than a second, so there's no point to ever have the 0.1 second indicator. Knowing whether you have 35.0 or 35.9 second remaining in the game/quarter/half isn't really helpful and only serves to stir up trouble.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jchamp

The clock only stops when the WH or a covering official makes a signal that kills the clock.

Really? On a successful or unsuccessful field goal you're saying the *signal* stops the clock? I'd take issue with that, myself.

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by Rich

Really? On a successful or unsuccessful field goal you're saying the *signal* stops the clock? I'd take issue with that, myself.

I'm a soccer referee. I think the clock stops in football when the ball crosses the goal line, right? At any rate, the ECO is in a terrible position to determine when that happens. As any soccer assistant referee can tell you, a step off the offside line makes a huge difference. The ECO is ~ 50 yards of the line he is judging.

That's not to say he needs a signal in this case but rather support for the 5 sec expectation.

[Sonofanump]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

I'm a soccer referee. I think the clock stops in football when the ball crosses the goal line, right?

In NCAA it is when the ball touches in the endzone untouched.

Philosophy is 5 secs.