FOOTBALL

TIME’S A-WASTIN’

Rules Regarding Game and Play Clocks

By George Demetriou

Time is precious. That is especially true in a football game whether the playing time is 48 or 60 minutes.

The play clock regulates the pace of the game. If team A does not snap the ball before the play clock expires, the penalty is five yards, the value of which depends on the game situation, e.g., third and six is much more of a challenge than third and one. On the other hand, the five-yard pushback might be viewed as helpful in a punt situation when a greater distance to the goalline could help avert a touchback.

The rules have several safeguards designed to help ensure a team does not gain an advantage by delaying the game. Under NFHS rules, the game clock starts on the snap after an accepted delay penalty. In NCAA, it starts on the ready, unless there has been an abuse of the timing rules or team A is in a scrimmage-kick formation (whether or not the penalty is accepted) (NFHS 3-4-3i; NCAA 3-32d-11).

Play 1: First and 10 on team A’s 30 yardline. The game clock is running. Team A, in a double-wing formation with the quarterback immediately behind the center, is flagged for delay. The penalty is (a) accepted, or (b) declined. Ruling 1: In NFHS, in (a), the game clock starts on the snap; in (b), the game clock starts on the ready. In an NCAA game, in (a) and (b), the game clock starts on the ready.

Play 2: Fourth and 10 on team R’s 30 yardline. The game clock is running. Team K, in punt formation, is flagged for delay. The penalty is (a) accepted, or (b) declined. Ruling 2: Under NFHS rules, in (a), the game clock starts on the snap; in (b), the game clock starts on the ready. In an NCAA game, in (a) and (b), referees may order the game clock or play clock started or stopped whenever either team conserves or consumes playing time by tactics obviously unfair. The NCAA recommendation is referees should consider invoking that rule when the game clock is under five minutes of either half. That is a good suggestion for NFHS play as well (NFHS 3-4-6, 3.4.3B; NCAA 3-4-3).

Intentional grounding has specific clock treatment to preclude a team

When the 40-second play clock is in force, the ball is ready for play once the ball has been placed on the ground by an official and the official has stepped away to position. Eric Coss, Las Vegas, hustles to get the ball to the spot for the next snap, giving the offense a fair amount of time to get its play off before expiration of the play clock.

from gaining an advantage. Under NCAA rules, the game clock starts on the ready after team A throws an illegal forward or backward pass to conserve time. In NFHS, although intentional grounding is a running play, all illegal forward passes are treated the same as legal passes for clock purposes. Thus an incomplete illegal pass to conserve time results in the clock starting on the snap unless the referee applies the aforementioned discretion (NFHS 3-4-6; NCAA 3-3-2e-14, AR 3-4-3 III, IV).

Intentionally committing a foul to gain an advantage is not specifically mentioned anywhere as unethical, but there are some who believe that is not playing fair. Nonetheless there are rules to prevent an advantage from being gained via an intentional foul. In NCAA, if the game clock is stopped to complete a penalty for a foul by the team ahead in the score (or either team if the score is tied) inside the last two minutes of a half, it will start on the snap, at the option of the offended team. In NFHS, the same rule applies except the offended team has the option regardless of the score (NFHS 3-4-7; NCAA 3-4-3, AR 3-4-3 II).

Another technique that has been used to gain a time advantage is failing to unpile in a timely manner after a down. At a minimum, the clock should be stopped while players unpile. A fiveyard penalty for delay may be enforced if the referee can determine which team is responsible for the delay (NFHS 3-62f Pen.; NCAA 3-4-2b-8, AR 3-4-2 II).

It is also possible for a team to gain an advantage by manipulating the play clock. Consequently, the rules provide for a differing play clock count after certain events. The play clock after timeouts for an injured player or the helmet coming off of a player is set to 25 seconds for a team A player and to 40 seconds for a team B player. In NFHS, equipment repair is also a situation for the differing play clock count (NFHS 3-6-1e; NCAA 3-3-5f-1, 3-3-9b-1). The preceding distinctions are most likely to have an impact at the end of the game. Consider the following.

Play 3: Third down and seven. In the fourth quarter, team A leads, 14-12, and neither team has timeouts remaining. A1 gains five yards and is tackled in a side zone. The game clock is stopped because of an injury to B2 with 37 seconds remaining. Ruling 3: B2 must leave the game for at least one play. The clock starts on the ready with a 40-second play clock.

In the preceding play, if there were no injury, there would be a 40-second play clock and team A would not have to risk running another play. If the play clock were set to 25 seconds, team A would have to snap the ball, creating an advantage for team B (possibility of a fumble). Thus the rule is intended to prevent team B from gaining an advantage from the injury.

The rules also address delays in starting the game or the second half. However, the possibility of starting a game with a delay penalty because of a team refusing to enter the field first has been virtually eliminated. If for the start of the game or the second half, both teams refuse to enter, the referee should tell the home team it must be the first to enter. The penalty is 15 yards from the succeeding spot (NFHS 9-8-1g-2, 1.1.6; NCAA 3-4-1a).

If the teams are ready to play, but the field is not, it is a foul on the home team. Home management is responsible for clearing the field (band, props, etc.) so each half starts on time. That foul should be avoided if at all possible, especially if the circumstances are beyond the control of home management. The penalty is five yards in NFHS and 10 yards in NCAA (NFHS 3-6-4 Pen.; NCAA 3-4-1b Pen.).

For the start of the second half, NFHS has an additional requirement that both teams must be on the field for the three-minute warmup when the halftime intermission expires (they do not actually have to warm up) (9-8-1g3). George Demetriou has been a football official since 1968. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

DID YOU KNOW?

The NFL introduced its first iteration of a sudden death overtime procedure for the regular season in 1974. The NFHS came up with its recommended tiebreaking procedure in 1975. The NCAA extra periods rule was passed in 1996.

THEY SAID IT “Officials get graded out very carefully after every game. Every time you throw the penalty flag you hope and pray you’re right. Well, we all kind of joked around after the Fog Bowl. You couldn’t see anything that day. No one would ever know whether we were good or bad.”

— The late Dave Parry, side judge for the NFL playoff game Dec. 31, 1988, played in a dense fog in Chicago

TOOLS

A Tough Job Made Harder

Richard Lister examines the demands on football officials as well as what makes the work so rewarding in his book, A Tough Job Made Harder. Lister’s sources include Fox Sports football rules analysts Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino as well as retired NFL referees Jerry Markbreit, Bill Carollo and Terry McAulay. Lister notes that despite the proclivity for fans to lay blame on officiating, those who undertake it do so with pride and professionalism. The book is available from Amazon, selling for $9.99 (Kindle version) and $16.99 (paperback).

TEST YOURSELF Force of a Different Color

Decide which answer or answers are correct for NFHS and NCAA rules, which might vary. Note: In kicking situations, K is the kicking team, R the receiving team. Solutions: p. 81.

1. Team A is in shotgun formation with A1 six yards behind the snapper and no one in position to take a hand-to-hand snap. In the process of calling signals, A1 places one foot in front of the other and slowly rocks back and forth on his lead foot. a. No problem as long as A1’s movement doesn’t simulate the start of a snap. b. If another team A player goes in motion and A1 is still rocking when the ball is snapped, it will be a foul for illegal shift. c. If A1 is still rocking when the ball is snapped, it will be a foul for illegal motion. d. False start; the officials should prevent the snap and penalize team A.

2. Which of the following is true regarding the free kick following a safety? a. Team K may put the ball in play via punt, placekick or dropkick. b. All players of team K must have been between the nine-yard marks at some point after the ready and before the kick. c. When a punt or drop kick is used, the ball may be kicked anywhere behind team K’s restraining line between the hashmarks. d. All of the above.

3. While the play is in progress, the referee and the umpire realize there are 12 team A players on the field taking part in the action. a. The penalty is five yards. b. The penalty is 10 yards. c. The penalty is 15 yards.

4. First and 10 on team A’s 20 yardline. A1’s forward pass hits the umpire, who has turned and ducked. The deflected ball is then caught by ineligible A2. a. A2 is guilty of illegal touching. b. The ball is dead and the pass is incomplete when it hits the official. c. Legal catch.

5. Team A is illegally in motion at the snap. A1’s pass is intercepted by B2. During B2’s return, B3 clips A4. a. Team B can retain possession by declining the penalty for illegal motion. b. If team B declines the penalty for illegal motion, team A will accept the penalty for clipping. c. If team B accepts the penalty for illegal motion, the penalties offset. d. All of the above are true. Ordinarily, if the receiving team touches or muffs a kick beyond the neutral zone and the loose ball is recovered by the kicking team, possession is awarded to the kicking team. But the touching by team R is ignored if it is caused by team K — an act generally referred to as forced touching.

In PlayPic A, a team K player has legally batted a grounded scrimmage kick toward his own goalline. The ball then deflects off a team R player (PlayPic B) and is recovered by a prone team K player (PlayPic C).

The ball is dead when team K recovers the loose ball. Because the bat caused the touching by team R, that touching is ignored. Team R may take the ball at the spot it was batted, which is the spot of first touching (NFHS) or illegal touching (NCAA).

Forced touching is also excused if team K blocks or pushes team R into the ball. There is one subtle difference in the rules. In NFHS, it is also forced touching if the ball is muffed by team K and then touches team R. Such is not the case in NCAA (NFHS 6-2-4, 6-2-5; NCAA 6-3-4, AR 6-3-4 III). 

A

C B

Chuck It or Tuck It?

One of the drawbacks of a five-official NFHS crew is exposed when a quarterback who is scrambling toward the sideline suddenly cocks his arm as if to throw. Head linesman Tyler Wadekamper, Seattle, has to sacrifice some downfield pass coverage in order to take care of business. Consider all that’s happening here.

The chain crew heeded the pregame instructions to start dropping the sticks and move out of the way if threatened. In addition to stampeding players presenting danger, it gives the official room to move back off the sideline to maintain a wide field of vision. If the quarterback moves forward as he throws, Wadekamper’s position straddling the line of scrimmage is helpful in determining if the passer was beyond the line. In NFHS rules, a passer is beyond the line when either of his feet are beyond the neutral zone when the forward pass is released (7-5-1). Wadekamper may have to rule if the runner stepped out of bounds at any point while he is in possession of the ball.

If a pass is thrown and either of these defenders contacts the passer, the decision on roughing the passer will belong to the unseen referee, who is trailing the play. The referee will also determine if a pass is intentionally grounded.

forward pass is released (7-5-1).

CASEPLAYS

Missed Field Goal I

Play: Team K’s field goal attempt from team R’s 23 yardline is wide right and lands untouched beyond the endline. Team K is flagged for an illegal formation at the snap. How is the penalty enforced? Ruling: In NFHS, the result of the play is a touchback. Team R will choose to have the penalty enforced from the 20 yardline (succeeding spot) and begin a new series at its own 25 yardline. The other options — decline the penalty or have the five-yard penalty enforced from the previous spot and a replay of the down — are less likely (10-4-2 Exc.). In NCAA, because the ball was snapped from outside team R’s 20 yardline, the ball is returned to the previous spot and team R will begin a new series there (8-4-2b-1).

Missed Field Goal II

Play: In the first possession of overtime (NFHS) or extra periods (NCAA), K1’s attempted field goal is short. The ball is rolling at team R’s seven yardline when R2 touches the ball. K3 recovers the ball at team R’s three yardline. Ruling: Under both codes, team K is awarded a new series at team R’s three yardline. The rules associated with team R’s touching of a scrimmage kick beyond the line apply the same in tiebreaking procedures as they do in regulation (NFHS 6-2-4, Resolving tied games procedure 5-2-1a; NCAA 6-3-3, 6-3-6a, 8-4-2b-2).

Double Change of Possession

Play: Third and six from team A’s 20 yardline. A1 advances to team A’s 30 yardline where B2 grabs and twists his facemask, causing A1 to fumble. B3 recovers and advances to team A’s 10 yardline, where he is hit and fumbles. A4 recovers at team A’s five yardline. Ruling: Team A will accept the penalty to avoid having the ball deep in its own territory. Enforcement is from the end of A1’s run, team A’s 30 yardline. That yields first and 10 for team A from its own 45 yardline (NFHS 10-3-3b, 10-44; NCAA 10-2-2d-2).

Hurrying Can Be Bad for Your Officiating Health

By Jon Bible

Aformer supervisor had an oftrepeated saying: “No walking on the field.” By that he meant we can’t do our jobs well if we’re not where we need to be to officiate the play properly and we look lazy if it seems like we’re just taking a stroll in the park. I agree with that pithy phrase as a general rule of thumb. But one should not go overboard and infer it means that when the ball is snapped we should start running frenetically about.

The dictionary definitions of “hurry” and “hustle” don’t differ a lot. Hurry denotes rushed action, whereas hustle involves a state of busy activity. It’s a matter of degree. Good officials, however, don’t need a dictionary to tell them there’s a difference, and they strive to do the latter when they can.

Referees, for example, hurry if, at the snap, they start darting here and there, immediately move with the runner as he runs upfield or to the right sideline, or races to follow him as he goes the opposite way. They hustle if they stay stationary as long as they can — staying still, in the right circumstances, doesn’t mean one isn’t hustling — don’t start trailing the runner until he’s reached the neutral zone when going upfield or has passed the referee when going toward the right sideline, and move briskly, but don’t sprint, to follow him when he goes the other way. The longer we remain still, and the more we move in a cruise-control fashion instead of running all-out, the steadier our eyes are, and the better we can see, process and evaluate the action in front of us.

Referees hurry when they wait to the last second to retreat at a 45-degree angle as the quarterback drops back; then, they have to run to get out of the way, may get caught up in the traffic as the quarterback scrambles, and may end up with the quarterback going behind them. They can’t officiate when they’re in self-protection mode. But they hustle when they slowly drop back as the quarterback does so and continue to do so, roughly one step in retreat for every step the quarterback drops back. Again, moving slowly instead of madly bailing out allows the action before them to better register in their mind.

Officials hurry when, as a runner is tackled, they sprint to the pile and end up so close that their nose can almost touch the runner’s. They hustle when they trot in, keeping their head on a swivel so they can pick up unsportsmanlike acts near the pile. Don’t worry about getting to the ball too quickly; it’ll still be there a few seconds later, and you’ll be in a better position to officiate, not just see the play. And if too many officials converge on the pile, there will be a bunch of eyes on the runner and tackler and not enough monitoring the surrounding action.

Wing officials hurry if, when a runner passes them, they race to the dead-ball spot. They hustle if they move briskly, keep officiating the play (watching not just the runner but shifting focus to where a threat is) and arrive on the scene a few seconds after the play ends. An out-of-bounds spot isn’t going to move, so it’s not necessary, and can be counterproductive, to race there (the jiggling-eyes concept). Whether the runner crosses the sideline or the play ends inbounds (including when he’s driven back so we need a forward progress spot) wings can, if both wings are using proper cross-field mechanics, get at least an approximate spot from the partner on the other side of the field when they get to the right place. It may be off a foot or so (it shouldn’t be more than that) but except in a close lineto-gain situation that’s not enough to worry about.

We hurry when, after a play ends

in the side zone or out of bounds, we immediately turn away to retrieve the ball or get one from a ball helper. We hustle if we’re great dead-ball officials who watch the action until we’re sure things have settled and then worry about the ball. Even at the college level I see officials who are too quick to shift their focus away from the action to get a ball into play. Don’t sweat it; there will be time for that after the dust has settled. If there’s a 40/25 play clock the referee can always pump it up if we don’t get the ball spotted in a timely manner, and if there isn’t, the referee can control when marking the ball ready for play.

To be sure, we must get on our horse at times. The back judge and wing officials have no choice but to do so when a quarterback connects on a 40-yard bomb and the receiver is racing for the goalline, and a referee had better get out of bounds with a quarterback to protect him. But a lot of years of doing that have convinced me that too many times we start needlessly racing about right out of the gate. I suspect that we’re fearful that if we don’t, it’ll look like we’re loafing and that may create a bad perception and hurt if someone who can help us move up the ladder is watching. In fact, if we work in cruise control as much as we

But one should not go overboard and infer it means that when the ball is snapped we should start running frenetically about.

can, the better our officiating will be and the more we’ll look like we’ve been around the block a few times. If a power-that-be is there, that combination will impress him or her a lot more than if we’re constantly racing around full-tilt. Jon Bible is a replay official in the Southeastern Conference. A resident of Austin, Texas, he formerly officiated collegiate and pro football. 