Article:College football at warp speed, Mr. Zulu? It could happen!

If an NCAA oversight panel has their way, next football season could see shorter games in 2008 and I am starting to like some of them already! The average NCAA Division 1A game takes about 3 and a half hours to play but things may move faster than a glacier. The NCAA may be adopting the NFL's  NFL's 40-second play clock, which starts immediately after the previous play is blown dead. The colleges' traditional 25-second clock started when the ball was placed down and ready for play; it still will be used after such stoppages as injury timeouts and penalties.

Other changes involve kickoffs, allowing receiving teams to take the ball at their 40-yard line rather than the 35 when a kickoff goes out of bounds, decreasing the likelihood they'll ask for a time-adding re-kick. Kickoffs were moved back 5 yards to the 30 last season. They are also talking about giving coaches a second challenge in the event the first challenge is successful. This would give a team that is either trailing or tied a better chance at field position.

The game may be a little more safer in 2008. No more horse collar tackles, like the NFL. The outright prohibition on horse-collaring ball carriers mirrors the NFL's rule, calling for an automatic 15-yard penalty for grabbing a player by the back or side of his shoulder pads or jersey rather than leaving officials discretion in making an unnecessary-roughness call. The committee also called for a crackdown on above-the-shoulder hits on defenseless opponents. It eliminated the 5-yard penalty for incidental face mask violations, determining that they pose no safety risk.The intentional 15-yard penalty, in which the head is twisted or jerked around, will still be the law of the land.

College football is speeding up. PASS IT ON!