Report: Proposal of changes in place to reduce number of plays in college football games

A couple of changes could be coming to college football this fall in an effort to continue making the game safer while also reducing the duration of contests.

According to a report from Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger, executives of the sport are closing in on recommending multiple clock rule changes that would reduce the number of plays during college football games. The changes would effectively shorten the duration of games as well.

At this time, four different changes are being reviewed for a possible proposal. They include ideas such as not allowing a team to take consecutive timeouts, no longer extending a first or third quarter for an untimed down if the period ends on a defensive penalty, continuing to run the clock after an offense gains a first down except inside the final two minutes of a half, and running the clock after an incomplete pass once the ball has been spotted.

The changes have drawn a variety of support and controversy from executives. It's expected that a running clock after a first down would cut out seven to nine plays per game while running the clock after an incomplete pass could eliminate more than double that.

Multiple executives believe that the duration and pace of a college football game need to match more closely to the NFL. Per Dellenger, the average FBS game lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes in 2022, an increase from the year before (3:18) and five minutes longer than in 2018 (3:16).

That surpasses the average duration of an NFL game, which is closer to three hours and 10 minutes. Game lengths in the NFL are more consistent than college, which makes sense when it's only 32 teams competing compared to 133. Nearly 20% of FBS games in 2022 lasted longer than three and a half hours.

There are a couple of reasons - such as the FBS average of total plays in a game being around 180 compared to the NFL's 155. Plus, halftimes at the professional level only last 12 minutes compared to 20-minute college halftimes.

Regardless, if taken into effect in a couple of weeks, these changes could have ramifications on the tempo that offenses operate at.

Last season, Florida State averaged 70.6 plays per game, which ranked No. 60 in the country and No. 8 in the ACC. That was an increase of the 68.4 plays per game that the Seminoles compiled in 2021.

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