Gundy...

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Leading up to the final minutes, though, game times will be shortened by the new rule. Shaw told

ESPN that the rule change will shorten the game, on overage, by seven or eight minutes and cut out about eight plays a game.

“It’ll be a big factor in the games in my opinion,” Gundy said. “I think we’ll see teams that had leads with six to seven minutes in college football over the last 15 years or so, meant zero, unprotected.”

Two other rule changes were made in February, also to reduce stoppages and speed up the game.

Teams can no longer call consecutive timeouts –goodbye, icing kickers multiple times before an attempt – and penalties at the end of the first and third quarters will be enforced the following quarter. This means the first and third quarters will no longer be extended for an untimed down after a penalty. “So, it’s a minimal change, and I think a good change directionally for the game,” Shaw said. sports.ed@ocolly.com