Urban Meyer hates the new rule changes
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:35 pm
College coaches blast rules one week into football season
By Edgar Thompson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
GAINESVILLE — College football games are shrinking and Urban Meyer is fuming.
Florida's offensive-minded coach isn't alone.
One week into the season many coaches have already condemned the new rules designed to shorten games and reduce plays.
Meyer said he'll search for more plays - and some answers - this off-season.
"If it doesn't get in the way of my family and recruiting, I'll go nuts on it," Meyer said. "I'm very concerned with the direction of college football. I'm not sure why we did that."
To cut back on game lengths, the NCAA football rules committee passed a couple of key changes to the way the game clock operates:
n The clock now begins on kickoffs instead of once the receiving team touches the ball.
n On a change of possession, the clock restarts once the ball is marked for play, rather than on the ensuing snap.
The changes had the desired effect in the opening week, but seemingly with a cost for the fan in the stands.
USA Today's data shows last week's games lasted 17 fewer minutes, down from an average of 3:20, with 13 fewer plays, 101 fewer yards and 4.5 points fewer points than last year's season openers.
"I guess you could say in a sense we've achieved some of our goals; we've shortened the game up," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "But we're eliminating plays for each team, so we're not as entertaining as a year ago."
Coaches blame money and television.
Like the NFL's rule changes in 1991, the new measures in college football are intended to bring games closer to a three-hour window instead of the 31/2-hour to 4-hour marathons of recent seasons.
Last season, 13-of-52 openers lasted longer than 31/2 hours.
"This is television driven as much as anything," Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. "The games run longer and it precludes television from starting another game."
In Saturday's win against Southern Miss, Florida ran 59 plays - 11 fewer than the Gators' 2005 average.
A similar decline occurred nationwide.
During Oklahoma's 24-17 win against UAB, the teams combined for 110 plays - the fewest in a Sooners' game in 50 years. Iowa State averaged 72 plays last season, but managed 68 during a triple-overtime win against Toledo.
A season after averaging 69 plays, Florida State ran 57 during Monday's 13-10 win against Miami in the Orange Bowl.
Coach Bobby Bowden didn't seem to mind after the Seminoles' second straight win against the Hurricanes.
"If you're into statistics more than wins, you don't like that rule," Bowden said. "If your defense is playing real good like ours was and like Miami's was, I think you can live with that."
Miami coach Larry Coker didn't agree. Unlike Bowden, Coker had to contend with the new layer of strategy to clock management during a late-game comeback attempt.
Looking to prevent Florida State from running up to 24 seconds off the 25-second clock, Coker called a timeout with 2:19 remaining after a Hurricanes punt. In the past, the clock would not have started until FSU snapped the ball. Miami would have preserved a timeout and had more time to score when it got the ball back.
"I guess if it works to your advantage, you like it," Coker said.
Tiller says he believes no coach ultimately will like the changes.
"As the season progresses and more guys get burned by it, you are going to see more people not liking the rule," he said.
Despite a 27-point win in a three-hour opener, Meyer has an opinion about the rule he hopes to voice after the season.
Under normal circumstances, Meyer estimates that officials need about 12 seconds to mark the ball after a change of possession. At that point, a team must now be on the field and ready to run a play or lose potentially valuable seconds.
Coaches don't want to call the play until they know field position and quarterbacks need a moment to survey the defense. In some cases, players on special teams might play offense.
"There's a lot of gymnastics on the sidelines once that ball is punted," Meyer said.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr estimates nearly six minutes of game time elapsed during a 27-7 win against Vanderbilt because of the rule changes.
"I would have loved to have that opportunity to have played some of our younger players," Carr said.
Besides fewer comebacks and player development, fewer plays also means people will break fewer records.
Steve Spurrier, whose record-setting offenses at Florida changed the SEC, said the rule surprises him, especially because he didn't hear about it until it passed.
"They didn't ask the coaches to vote on it," he said. "They just said, 'Here is the new rule.''"
Meyer said he's going to find out why rules-makers changed - and in his opinion hampered - a popular game.
"I'm going to get involved in that," he said. "I don't know who makes those decisions, but I'm going to find out."
If he does something after the season, to get this fixed or if he at least calls out the NCAA and makes them look like bigger idiots, then he will be my favorite coach. ever.
By Edgar Thompson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
GAINESVILLE — College football games are shrinking and Urban Meyer is fuming.
Florida's offensive-minded coach isn't alone.
One week into the season many coaches have already condemned the new rules designed to shorten games and reduce plays.
Meyer said he'll search for more plays - and some answers - this off-season.
"If it doesn't get in the way of my family and recruiting, I'll go nuts on it," Meyer said. "I'm very concerned with the direction of college football. I'm not sure why we did that."
To cut back on game lengths, the NCAA football rules committee passed a couple of key changes to the way the game clock operates:
n The clock now begins on kickoffs instead of once the receiving team touches the ball.
n On a change of possession, the clock restarts once the ball is marked for play, rather than on the ensuing snap.
The changes had the desired effect in the opening week, but seemingly with a cost for the fan in the stands.
USA Today's data shows last week's games lasted 17 fewer minutes, down from an average of 3:20, with 13 fewer plays, 101 fewer yards and 4.5 points fewer points than last year's season openers.
"I guess you could say in a sense we've achieved some of our goals; we've shortened the game up," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "But we're eliminating plays for each team, so we're not as entertaining as a year ago."
Coaches blame money and television.
Like the NFL's rule changes in 1991, the new measures in college football are intended to bring games closer to a three-hour window instead of the 31/2-hour to 4-hour marathons of recent seasons.
Last season, 13-of-52 openers lasted longer than 31/2 hours.
"This is television driven as much as anything," Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. "The games run longer and it precludes television from starting another game."
In Saturday's win against Southern Miss, Florida ran 59 plays - 11 fewer than the Gators' 2005 average.
A similar decline occurred nationwide.
During Oklahoma's 24-17 win against UAB, the teams combined for 110 plays - the fewest in a Sooners' game in 50 years. Iowa State averaged 72 plays last season, but managed 68 during a triple-overtime win against Toledo.
A season after averaging 69 plays, Florida State ran 57 during Monday's 13-10 win against Miami in the Orange Bowl.
Coach Bobby Bowden didn't seem to mind after the Seminoles' second straight win against the Hurricanes.
"If you're into statistics more than wins, you don't like that rule," Bowden said. "If your defense is playing real good like ours was and like Miami's was, I think you can live with that."
Miami coach Larry Coker didn't agree. Unlike Bowden, Coker had to contend with the new layer of strategy to clock management during a late-game comeback attempt.
Looking to prevent Florida State from running up to 24 seconds off the 25-second clock, Coker called a timeout with 2:19 remaining after a Hurricanes punt. In the past, the clock would not have started until FSU snapped the ball. Miami would have preserved a timeout and had more time to score when it got the ball back.
"I guess if it works to your advantage, you like it," Coker said.
Tiller says he believes no coach ultimately will like the changes.
"As the season progresses and more guys get burned by it, you are going to see more people not liking the rule," he said.
Despite a 27-point win in a three-hour opener, Meyer has an opinion about the rule he hopes to voice after the season.
Under normal circumstances, Meyer estimates that officials need about 12 seconds to mark the ball after a change of possession. At that point, a team must now be on the field and ready to run a play or lose potentially valuable seconds.
Coaches don't want to call the play until they know field position and quarterbacks need a moment to survey the defense. In some cases, players on special teams might play offense.
"There's a lot of gymnastics on the sidelines once that ball is punted," Meyer said.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr estimates nearly six minutes of game time elapsed during a 27-7 win against Vanderbilt because of the rule changes.
"I would have loved to have that opportunity to have played some of our younger players," Carr said.
Besides fewer comebacks and player development, fewer plays also means people will break fewer records.
Steve Spurrier, whose record-setting offenses at Florida changed the SEC, said the rule surprises him, especially because he didn't hear about it until it passed.
"They didn't ask the coaches to vote on it," he said. "They just said, 'Here is the new rule.''"
Meyer said he's going to find out why rules-makers changed - and in his opinion hampered - a popular game.
"I'm going to get involved in that," he said. "I don't know who makes those decisions, but I'm going to find out."
If he does something after the season, to get this fixed or if he at least calls out the NCAA and makes them look like bigger idiots, then he will be my favorite coach. ever.
