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SCS.COM COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2007: CHANGES FOR 2007
August 13, 2007

SCS.comLast season the NCAA implemented numerous changes in clock management in an effort to speed up the overall pace of the game. After a year that was full of complaints, the committee spent the off-season reviewing the rules and focusing on addressing areas that will not reduce the number of plays in the game, an area that was the major concern last season. Also during the off-season, the BCS formula was reviewed as usual to understand if adjustments were required in the system that decides the college football Division I national championship game. It's time to review in more detail what rule changes have been approved and any other significant adjustments that will impact the game in 2007.

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RULE CHANGES

Heading into the season, there are numerous new rules implemented by the NCAA that will play a role in reducing the length of the games. The most significant change is to address the play clock rule that was implemented last season, which was to start the clock on the change of possession as soon as the referee signaled the ball ready for play. This season, the clock will not start until the ball is snapped, in an effort to add more plays back into the game. The change last season reduced the number of plays, and the committee decided to instead shift their focus on reducing the length of game time through other means instead of by eliminating game action and potentially impacting game results.

Another key change is to move the kickoff from the 35 yard line to the 30 yard line to allow more kickoffs to be returned. The hope is to generate more excitement and potentially more scoring as teams have a much greater chance at setting up the return game. Teams are more likely to use their best all-around athletes now that there is a much greater percentage that there will be a return on the kickoff.

One area that will not change is the instant replay and its unlimited time for review, as the committee denied a proposal to limit the review to only 2 minutes. The review of the replay system has been positive and replay seems likely to remain as part of the college football game for the foreseeable future. Clearly, the vast majority of the focus on this year's rule changes is to reduce the dead time in the game and speed up the overall time to complete a game, aiming at the 3 hour time limit.

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BCS/BOWL CHANGES

For the first time in a while, the bowl landscape remains stable with 32 games in the postseason, the same as in 2006. The national championship game will take place on January 7th as this year’s game shifts to New Orleans and the Louisiana Superdome, while the Poinsettia Bowl will kick off the postseason on December 20th in San Diego. The SEC leads the way again with 8 guaranteed bowl bids if the league has enough teams reach the required 6 wins, while the Big 12 and Big 10 have contracts with 7 bowls.

In addition, the BCS set-up remains unchanged this season, but discussion is heating up for a plus-one scenario down the road. In this case, the top 4 BCS ranked teams will compete in a semi-final round and then have one additional game to decide the national championship, but this scenario remains unlikely until at least the 2010 season. There appears to be growing support for an additional game, and it is looking more and more likely to become reality in the near future.

The BCS formula also remains unchanged as a combination of the Harris Poll, the Coaches Poll, and the computer rankings are all worth 1/3 of the total ranking system.

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CONFERENCE AFFILIATION

A few changes in conference affiliation involve Temple, who after a season as an Independent, will join the Mid-American conference and take their place in the East Division. The Owls are rebuilding in the 2nd year of Al Golden’s tenure and will have a much easier road schedule this year as they debut in MAC play.

Also of note, Western Kentucky is a transitional Division I-A member this season as the Hilltopper program prepares to move to the Sun Belt conference next season. WKU enters I-A after a 6-5 record last season, and the Toppers have recorded 11 consecutive winning seasons as one of the best I-AA programs in the nation.

The remainder of the football landscape remains unchanged, although there have been recent rumblings about the Big 10 searching for a 12th team to set up a championship game, with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame as the top target.

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