Initiatives driving changes to the rules this year:
• Keep the game moving in terms of pace of play.
• Moderately reduce the number of plays per game.
• Ensure consistency in officiating mechanics managing the game clock.
Stopping and Starting the Clock – First Downs (Rule 3-3-2-e-1) – When Team A (the offense) gains a first down, the clock will no longer be stopped to award a first down except with less than two minutes remaining in the 2nd and 4th quarters. This change is effective immediately for DI and DII and will be implemented in 2024 for DIII.
Consecutive Charged Team Timeouts (Rule 3-3-4-a) – Consecutive charged team timeouts will no longer be allowed by the same team in any individual dead ball period. Each team is entitled to three charged team timeouts during each half, with no more than one charged team timeout available per team, per individual dead ball period.
Extension of Periods (Rule 3-2-3-a) – A period shall be extended for an untimed down in the 2nd or 4th quarter only if a penalty is accepted for a live-ball foul, if there are offsetting fouls, or an inadvertent whistle. The 1st and 3rd quarters will not be extended, and any penalty enforcement will be carried over to the following quarter.
With a plethora of outstanding QB’s in the PAC-12 again this season, two of the top three from last year with four in the top fifteen, it’s that first rule that may play an important part for teams that are facing QB’s the likes of USC’s Caleb Williams or Washington’s Michael Penix-Jr., both of whom threw for over 4,500 yards last year.