What Should Be Fixed In College Football

October 27, 2021 by Staff

For a long time, college football has been one of the most beloved and watched sports. It's a family tradition, viewed in a variety of ways that can include tailgating before the game, throwing a party at home, or simply watching by yourself in the recliner after placing your small bets at 22betlogin.co.ke or other sites. No matter how you choose to watch your favorite team play, the anticipation of kickoff is palpable.

And no matter where you are watching from, it doesn't take long before you are screaming at the officials, or frustrated by some of the rules.

No recent rules change became more glaringly unacceptable than 'overtime' did this past Saturday.

Should be Fired

Whoever contacted the idea, and everyone who voted in favor if it, should have been canned immediately after Saturday's debacle. We are talking about the new rule that forces every team to do nothing but exchange two-point conversion attempts from the three-yard line, beginning with the third overtime.

Nine times, Illinois and Penn State, were forced to do this on Saturday, resulting in a 20-18 win for Illinois.

There is nothing about this rule that showcases competition, or helps to determine which team is better. It's the equivalent of a soccer shootout, but in a sport that doesn't need such a ridiculous ending to a game.

We understand the point of emphasis was to reduce the number of plays, and playing time, to resolve a time - but it's an ugly way to end a competitive game, and it's doubtful the objectives were achieved.

It was also done in reaction to the rare - let me say, VERY rare - occurrence of the LSU-Texas A&M game that took 7 overtimes to decided a 74-72 victory for the Aggies on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. There were 197 snaps, and each possession began with a 25-yard line.

But, by reducing everything to the football version of the penalty kicks, NCAA missed a sweet point.

Why not simply adopt the high school Kansas tie-breaker rules? Start from the 10. Get one set of downs. Each team gets a possession. This would reduce the length of an overtime drive from 25 yards to 10 yards, and reduce the number of total plays. And if we're trying to reduce contact plays, let every extra point be an option of a kick or a 2-point conversion. Surely, more collisions take place on a 2-point try than a PAT.

Besides, it was really sad to watch the Nittany Lions and Illini miss 11-of-14 two-point attempts.

Most games will end, without reaching Dante’s Ninth Circle of Overtime Hell. But just in case, improved rules might solve problems with score counting, without turning games into random disposable games.

That Didn't Help

Since QB Sean Clifford was injured in the game against Iowa on October 9 and Penn State managed just 2.14 yards per play vs Illinois. With no running game as an option, Penn State is in deep trouble without Clifford.

Good luck in the upcoming games against Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State.

Bad Sportsmanship

Some of these displays have simply got to end. And for Heaven's sake, when officals know good and well that the first player forced a retaliation, flag the first player, too.

Every year, sportsmanship seems to crrep into a rule change or become a 'point of emphahsis'. Said coordinator of Big 12 officials Greg Berks, “It seems that every year we talk about unsportsmanlike conduct,” Burks said. "It’s always an area that needs to be addressed. And what we are really going to be focusing on this year is taunting an opponent."

If only the officials had a clue as to what 'taunting' is. When Xavier Hutchinson of Iowa was flagged for absolutely nothing that was directed at Oklahoma State, everyone on earth seemd to notice the stupidty of it outside of the ref who threw the flag.

Oklahoma Ranking

After needing to rally to get past Kansas, Oklahoma only slipped one place to fourth in the top 25 AP and two places up to fourth in the survey of coaches. This is not enough. Oklahoma almost didn't beat no one. Even the comeback required a strange miss of the rules by the officials, allowing Oklahoma a first down on a play that had clarly been stopped and would've Kansas the Ball with time to score and the lead in the 4th quarter.

Oklahoma and Northern Illinois have the greatest number of victories by one score in the country - five. Oklahoma's average victory margin is 8.9 points. Wake Forest, which is also undefeated, has an average margin of victory of 15.5 points with only a slightly weaker schedule. But the Demon Deacons are nine spots behind Oklahoma in both polls.