College Football Executives Close to Major Rule Changes

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — College football executives are discussing possible rule changes to college football. These changes are meant to reduce the length of games and increase player safety, according to multiple officials who spoke to Sports Illustrated.

This group of executives, after years of research, picked four changes, two potentially divisive, that will reduce total game time. The executives say that two of these changes will not have much pushback as they are not controversial. 

First, teams will no longer be able to call two consecutive timeouts. This rarely happens anyway, as one of the main scenarios is when coaches try to ice the kicker during a field goal. The other is no longer extending the first or third quarter for an untimed down (in case of a defensive penalty). 

These rule changes seem extremely situational and do not seem to save that much time in the long run. Because of this, the second two rule changes are much more divisive. The third proposed rule change is the clock continuing to run after the offense gains a first down. Except inside two minutes in a half. The NFL already has this rule in place without the caveat of inside two minutes.

The last proposal, and most controversial, involves the clock continuing to run after an incomplete pass once the ball is spotted for play. The XFL implemented this rule change this season, so we can watch and see how this plays out. This proposal should receive significant opposition.