NCAA Proposes Timing Rule Changes for Football

College football could be moving toward a timing rule similar to the NFL with the game clock continuing to run after first downs.

In order to speed up the game and encourage better game management from coaches, the NCAA Football Rules Committee has proposed several timing rule changes Friday morning. 

The biggest change would be how the game clock is set for first downs. Currently, the clock stops when a first down is gained and restarts when the offense is awarded a first down. Under the proposed change, the clock would continue to run after a first down gained. However, it will still stop for a first down in the final two minutes of either half, similar to clock management in the NFL. 

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is the co-chair for the committee that helped come up with the changes.

"This rule change is a small step intended to reduce the overall game time and will give us some time to review the impact of the change," Smart said in a press release.

There are two other proposed changes. The first would no longer allow teams to call consecutive timeouts. For example, a team couldn't call timeouts back-to-back to try and freeze the opposing kicker. 

The other change is that penalties at the end of the first and third quarter would carry over and be enforced on the first play of the next quarter. The current format uses untimed downs at the end of the quarter.

If approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on April 20, the changes would go into effect starting this fall. 

See also:

Nick Saban Not Pleased With Proposed Permanent SEC Opponents for Alabama Under New Format

Report: Alabama Football Hires Charlie Strong as a Defensive Analyst

All Things Bama Podcast - Crimson Corner: Interview with Alabama Softball HC Patrick Murphy