Home Sports College football wants shorter games without actually making them shorter

College football wants shorter games without actually making them shorter

college football shorter games
If college football really wants shorter games, they should stop spamming us commercial breaks

College football wants shorter games. Well, not really. The NCAA has announced that it is looking at ways to reduce the average contest by seven to eight minutes and eight plays. That feels like trying to cure cancer by taking a baby aspirin. With most Saturday matchups devolving into four-hour slogs, a lot more work is needed.

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Let’s start with the most hated man in college football: the media timeout countdown sign holder. As we’ve discussed in the past, every single game is constantly disrupted by this individual stopping proceedings for two-to-four minutes at a time. Of course, there are no plans to reduce the number of commercial stoppages because…money.

Instead, NCAA Football Secretary Rules-Editor and Officials Coordinator Steve Shaw laid out a bunch of half-hearted proposals that won’t really change anything.

NCAA suggestions for reducing college football game times:

  • Running the clock after a first down is awarded, except in the last two minutes of either half
  • Eliminating the option for teams to call consecutive team timeouts
  • Carrying over any fouls to the next period instead of finishing with an untimed down

There is nothing wrong with these in theory. They certainly won’t hurt. But they ignore the real elephant in the room. If college football really wants shorter games, they can reduce the number of advertisements during each broadcast. This isn’t rocket science.

NFL games have been streamlined to ensure they fit into tight three-hour windows. Commercials have been seamlessly integrated into the experience without being disruptive. On the other hand, college football heads to break at just about every stoppage so people watching on TV can be subjugated to Fansville for the hundredth time.

None of these proposals equate to college football having noticeably shorter games. They alleviate some common annoyances, especially stopping teams from calling consecutive timeouts. But the root cause isn’t being addressed. That’s a bummer because this misses a real opportunity to change the sport for the better.

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