Expert: Vic Winnek - 5/18/2008

Question
I would like to ask your interpretation on some rules for High School Football and or College:

a)  After an incompletion, the offense lines up for a 3rd down play inside the redzone.  There are 20 seconds left in the half.  No timeouts left.  The play is a completed pass to the 5 yardline, but the defense commits a pass interference penalty.  Now the clock stops (13 seconds) and the offense accepts the penalty, making it first and goal.  Does the clock start on the whistle or on the play?  I mean, if the offense does not accept the play but rather the penalty, does the clock remain stopped until the snap?  The game cannot end on a defensive penalty, right?

b)  4 minutes left in the game and the offense is trying to milk the clock to win by one.  1st down, they run...  2nd down, they run, and 3rd down, they run again.  Now there are 2 minutes left and before they must punt, they can milk another 30 seconds  (no timeouts left for the defense).  If they line up to punt and make a false start penalty, does the game clock start again before the snap, meaning the can run out another 30 seconds of the game clock?  If this is possible, the offense could continue to purposely commit penalties to never have to punt and end the game.  Can this be possible?

c)  Lastly, on the 4 minute warning, does the clock only stop to inform the coaches and restarts before the play... or does it stop like a time out and begins on the snap?

Thanks,

Mike

Answer
Mike
Thanks for the questions, The clock rules are different for college and high school football.  In fact the NCAA rules for timing in 2008 may not yet be finalized as of this post.  The "final approved" rules were posted 3 weeks ago and there has been at least 1 revisions since that time.  So I do not feel comfortable giving you the NCAA rule for your questions, but where I can I will.* (See Below * for 2008 NCAA Rule on timing)

A) I assume the completed pass was run to the 5 yardline where the runner was down in bounds - thus after the completion of the penalty it will be 1st & Goal from the spot where the penalty enforcement places the ball and the clock will start on the ready, (HS rule). The foul was DPI, the penalty is complete after it is administer.  The clock will start on the ready for play - remember the status of the ball when the play ended, after the penalty the ball & clock are returned to that status.

B) First the offensive team only gets 25 seconds in high school not 30 seconds.  In NCAA this year the play clock will be a 40 sec/ 25 sec. like the NFL.  On the 4th down play following a false start there is discretion for the referee to wind the clock or allow the clock to start on the snap..  Equity is served by enforcing the false start and chopping the ball ready for play but not starting the clock until it is snapped.  This prevents the offense from intentionally committing pre-snap fouls to eat up the game clock.

C) The 4 minute warning is in HS only and where there is no visable clock.  The clock will not stop at the 4 minute mark to give the warning.  The referee will stop the clock to advise the coaches of the 4 minutes remaining after the natural break in the action.  The clock will then start on the snap.

3-2-2-h (FR-65) The play clock re-set to 15-seconds after a charged team time-out was removed from the rule.  The play clock will be re-set to 25 seconds after all time-outs – team, media, or officials’ time-out.  The Rules Committee’s Rationale: This change achieved the goal of having teams on the field ready to play, but it is an administrative challenge with the other play clock changes.

* 2008 NCAA Timing Rule:
3-2-4 (FR-76)  There will be two play clock settings – 40 seconds and 25 seconds -- depending on game circumstances.   Whenever the ball becomes dead, the play clock will be re-set to 40 seconds and will start immediately counting down.  This includes when a runner is down in the field of play or out of bounds, fumble out of bounds, backward pass out of bounds, and after an incomplete pass.  After a team has picked up a first down, the game clock will stop but the play clock will go to 40 seconds when the ball becomes dead and will start counting down.  Once the down box is set, the officials are in place and the ball is on the ground in the correct spot, the referee will wind the game clock.  If the play clock runs down to 20 seconds before the down box is set and the ball is on the ground, the referee will “pump” the play clock up to 25 seconds and start it on the ready for play.    

If there is an administrative stoppage, the referee will stop the 40 second play clock and it will then be re-set to 25 seconds and started on the referee’s “ready for play” signal, just as in year’s past.  Some examples of administrative stoppages that would require a 25-second reset are:  Penalty administration; charged team time-out; media time-out; officials’ time-out; measurement; change of possession; try for extra point; start of each period; kick-offs; start of possession in extra periods; and instant replay reviews.   The Rules Committee’s Rationale:  This change was proposed at the 2006 rules meeting for implementation in the 2008 season.  This play clock system, the committee believes, will create a more consistent pace of play and take some of the guesswork out of readying the ball for play.   The greatest concern for officials with this new rule will be the availability of a competent play clock operator.  Many officials have expressed concerns in the past that a play clock operator who “ was not alert” caused the game to break its flow when the game had to be stopped to re-start the ready for play.  The play clock operator will have to focus and concentrate so that he starts the 40 second play clock immediately when the play is over. He must continue to focus on the Referee so that he is ready to re-set the play clock to 25 seconds after an administrative stoppage.


3-2-5-a-12 (FR-68)  When a ball carrier, a fumble or a backward pass goes out of bounds. (Exception: Within the last two minutes of each half the clock starts on the snap.) The Rule Committee’s Rationale for this change: The committee believes this change will slightly shorten the game without disrupting the natural flow of the game. The decision to revert to starting the clock on the snap in the final two minutes of each half is to allow for two minute offense to remain unchanged.   Officials will go through their normal mechanics to get the ball back in play after it goes out of bounds.  As soon as the ball is placed at the inbounds spot (hash), the clock will be wound.  The 40 second play clock is already running.  Should it take an excessive amount of time to get the ball placed at the inbounds spot and the play clock runs down to 20 seconds, the Referee will “pump” the play clock back to 25 seconds and mark it ready for play when the ball is placed on the ground and wind the clock.