Urban Meyer dissed the new clock rules first, but if this piece (h/t MrSEC.com) in WholeHogSports.com is any indication, he’s getting company from his SEC peers.
… Based on comments they have made this season, here are the opinions of SEC coaches on the new 40 / 25 clock rules enacted for 2008.
STRONGLY OPPOSED Bobby Petrino, Arkansas Urban Meyer, Florida Mark Richt, Georgia MODERATELY OPPOSED Les Miles, LSU Steve Spurrier, South Carolina Phil Fulmer, Tennessee Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt RELATIVELY NEUTRAL Nick Saban, Alabama MODERATELY IN FAVOR Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
STRONGLY IN FAVOR Rich Brooks, Kentucky
In complaining about the new rules, Petrino made a good point about something:
… Petrino pointed out an example where the 40-second clock didn’t seem practical. After Arkansas tight end D. J. Williams gained 76 yards on a crossing route in the fourth quarter against Louisiana-Monroe, the play clock was activated with players from both teams still streaming down the field and the chain gang racing to get in position.
“By the time we got down there and all the officials got down there and the chain crew got down there, you looked up and there was 8 seconds to go,” he said. “We looked up and had to call a timeout.”
All in all, it’s an interesting read.
Get The Picture 
I also dislike the clock changes and feel they have diminished the product. Giving us less, while charging us more is not the right direction for the powers-to-be to be heading. The clock changes two years ago reduced the number of plays per game by over 10%. The jury is still out on the current changes but it seems to be a similar impact. There just isn’t enough time for teams to mount a comeback.
I haven’t seen figures on it, but it seems the number of possessions is down dramatically. Depending on the team you are playing’s run/pass ratio and the “pace” of their offensive scheme, your second possession is likely to spill over into the 2nd quarter after you kicked off to begin a half. If your defense allows two long drives per game, an offense may only get 6-7 possessions per game.
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The shorter game is probably a negative for the ticket-paying fan who attends the game. It can be a positive for the fan watching on TV, though, especially if the game you’re interested in is the second game of a doubleheader. There used to be plenty of times when the first game would drag on and the viewer would miss much of the first quarter of “his” game. I can remember a few Georgia games on TV (South Carolina 2000, Oklahoma State 2007) in which I missed most of the first quarter because the previous game on that channel was dragging on.
Interestingly, coaches could probably run the same amount of offensive plays in a game as they used to if they adopted a true hurry-up style: Call the play quickly, get to the line, and snap it with 20-25 seconds left on the play clock. But a lot of teams like to stand around at the line, look at the defense, and then call the play or audible, so that the snap comes with maybe 5 seconds left on the play clock.
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On the whole, I don’t mind these “long” games. I’d rather be given the full product.
One way to appease the fans who think games are too long would be to limit the media’s influence (i.e. shorten commercials).
And we all know that will happen when pigs fly.
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I wish games were longer, not shorter.
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I just want the game clock to stop when a player runs out of bounds.
It is a constant fight against the clock this year. Not the other team.
Time keeps ticking away after every play.
Is this soccer or football?
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Given the way his offense is “producing” so far this season, I’m not surprised that Tuberville would be strongly in favor of any clock management scheme that keeps it off the field as much as possible.
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I agree with Hobnail, I’d rather have more CFB than less. We all know after the seasons over with we get so tired of waiting for the next we’d rather have a rusty nail driven into our skull than wait any longer.
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