The NBA has acknowledged that an error in setting the game clock led to an extra 1 minute and 6 seconds being played during the Memphis Grizzlies' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The clock was inaccurately set at 2:20 instead of 1:14 after a shot clock violation in the third quarter, but the error went unnoticed by teams, referees, and officials. Despite this, the Lakers secured a critical win, while the Grizzlies, already eliminated from playoff contention, were unaffected.
The NFL has approved a rule change allowing replay reviews to determine if the game clock expired before a snap, addressing situations where the clock runs out before a play. This change does not affect the play clock and will not impact delay of game penalties. The new rule comes after a specific incident in a game between the Packers and Lions, where the Lions objected to a play due to the game clock expiring before the snap, highlighting the need for this rule change.
The NFL is considering a rule change that would allow replay review to determine if the game clock expired before any snap, potentially correcting mistakes like the one in the Week Four Lions-Packers game where the clock expired before a play but went unnoticed by officials. The proposed change would not affect delay of game penalties and would require approval from at least 24 of the 32 NFL teams.
Starting in the 2023 college football season, the game clock will no longer stop on all first downs, which is expected to reduce the number of plays by an average of seven per game. This rule change will benefit teams like Michigan, which like to shorten the game and control the time of possession. Michigan's "ground and pound" style of offense, which highlights the running game, will be more productive with the new rule change.
The NCAA is set to approve three rule changes for Division I and II college football, including allowing the game clock to continue running after a team gets a first down, except for the last two minutes of each half. Other changes include no consecutive timeouts by a team and enforcing penalties that occur in the expiring seconds of the first or third quarter on the first play of the following quarter. The changes aim to shorten games and reduce the number of plays.
The Philadelphia Eagles have proposed adding tenths of a second to the NFL game clock for the final 30 seconds of each half. This would be a first for professional football and could add another level of gamesmanship and certainty for NFL coaches to know what they can pull off within the actual time frame. The proposal has received positive responses from coaches and analytics staffers around the league, but there are concerns about the feasibility of adding the extra decimal to all NFL stadium scoreboards. The competition committee will discuss the proposal in two weeks.
