The Southern Cal-Oregon State game was the textbook example of how the clock rules have impacted college football this season. Southern California fell behind 21-0 against a team that controlled the football on the ground. Out of bounds plays didn’t stop the clock and those extra 15 seconds per play shortened the game considerably and cut into the Trojans ability to come from behind.
Now there is no guarantee that Southern Cal could have come back to beat Oregon State, but the new rules that shortened the game certainly hindered USC’s efforts to mount a comeback late in the game. It’s the same problem every team is going to face this year. You can’t make up those minutes lost against a team that can run the ball successfully or against that team that throws short, controlled passes that move the chains.
Under the new rules, a team that gets ahead early can milk the clock even without trying to slow the game down. Consider a 10-play scoring drive from 2007. Let’s say there were three running plays and three pass plays that went out of bounds. The clock stopped each time the ball went out of bounds instead of starting up almost instantly under the new rules. There’s a possible minute and a half lost right there. Now add in those other four plays and an extra 15 seconds per play — two and a half minutes lost in the game.
As Gator Country’s Brady Ackerman noted Friday morning on the Gator Country Radio Show, the game was shortened by almost a full quarter. Could Southern Cal have won with an extra quarter? Sure, but there is no guarantee. Still, there is no question the game has been seriously impacted.
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