D-III most likely to delay new clock guidelines for first downs

May 11, 2023, 01:14 PM ET The NCAA Football Rules Committee appears headed towards postponing Division III’s application of the new game clock guideline for first downs for a year.The most significant rule modification approved last month for 2023 will have the game clock continue to run when an initially down is acquired except in the last 2 minutes of either half. Previously, the clock stopped when an initially down was gained and rebooted on the referee’s signal.The rule will be used in the Bowl Neighborhood, Championship Subdivision and Division II. It was postponed in Department III after the department’s management council asked for the Playing Rules Oversight Panel refer it back to the Football Rules Committee for more review.Editor’s Picks “I believe delay a year is the most likely scenario,”Steve Shaw, nationwide organizer of authorities and secretary-rules editor, said in a text to

The Associated Press on Thursday.Shaw stated Department III administrators and coaches want to see how the new rule affects games in the upper divisions.Shaw stated player safety and improved game circulation were reasonings for the modification. Keeping the clock running will take an estimated 7 to 8 plays out of games and, hence, lower the number of times players are exposed to potential injury. He noted the College Football Playoff expansion to 12 groups in 2024 could lead to a team playing up to 17 games.Division III coaches and administrators who oppose the rule state they are pleased with the current variety of plays in their game. There were approximately 172 per game last season compared with 178 in the FBS.Division III has the most football programs of any department, with 240, and its teams typically play 10 games. FBS groups play a minimum of 12. A decrease of some 70 plays in a season for a Department III team would amount to about a half-game and imply less chances for nonstarters in a division with no athletic scholarships.Shaw said the rules committee would vote quickly on whether to postpone the guideline in Department III. The proposition likewise would require the okay from the Playing Rules Oversight Panel. Otherwise, the guideline goes into impact this year.There is precedent for staggering the application of brand-new rules across all divisions,

Shaw said, however he watches out for creating irreversible separate field-of-play guidelines for various departments. “The appeal of college football,”he stated,”is if it’s Millsaps playing Sewanee, they’re playing the very same game as Michigan

and Ohio State.”