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UCLA football coach Chip Kelly proved to be a man of the people on Saturday when he trashed the clock rules institude for college football in 2023.
Kelly’s comments came during a halftime interview with ESPN’s Kayla Burton during the Bruins’ game against Coastal Carolina, a game which they went on to win, 27-13.
They addressed the surprise decision to no longer stop the clock after first downs (except in the final two minutes of each half) in NCAA Division I and Division II football games.
Add UCLA’s Chip Kelly to those who don’t like the new clock rules. “Hope you guys are selling a lot of commercials.”https://t.co/zX3PecCKit
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 3, 2023
“But this new rule is, um, it’s crazy. We had four drives in the first half. This game goes fast. Hope you guys are selling a lot of commercials,” he said.
Kelly’s comments were not without merit, either.
The NCAA said it expected the rule changes to produce about seven fewer plays per game. But Twitter user Colton Denning did the math.
Excluding Navy-Notre Dame, the average time of game yesterday was 3 hours and 29 minutes.
Small sample, but I think it's a decent bet they've just replaced that game time with more commercials.
— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) August 27, 2023
Game were still on television for the same period of time. But fans saw shorter game times and more commercials.
Indiana coach Tom Allen, who used the rules to his benefit again Ohio State, had similar critiques to Kelly prior to Saturday’s game.
Was thinking about this answer from Tom Allen at today's presser and how it relates to what @Dubsco pointed out after the Week 0 games.
Feels like CFB no longer stopping the clock after first downs is actually just about getting more commercials, and nothing else. #IUFB pic.twitter.com/xMuKAjmjyP
— Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger) August 31, 2023
“When you think about the reasons why they’re doing it, you know, obviously we all know from a practical perspective they’re not going to cut out the commercials. Because that’s how things are financed,” Allen said.
Fans were all the way on board with Kelly’s comments.
He’s right. Why are we making rule changes no one has ever complained about? Last two weeks have been less enjoyable from a consumer standpoint. https://t.co/7UDZ8Xg2z7
— Cooper Petagna (@cpetagna247) September 3, 2023
Hopefully more coaches speak out against the clock rules no one wants. https://t.co/SxBRQVak2D
— Brendan Darr (@BrendanDarr) September 3, 2023
Add UCLA’s Chip Kelly to those who don’t like the new clock rules. “Hope you guys are selling a lot of commercials.”https://t.co/zX3PecCKit
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 3, 2023
this combined with tv networks killing conferences and moving to a super league is the future. gotta try and pay for this bullshit vision nobody wants https://t.co/UQUzt2nC36
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) September 3, 2023
College football games aren’t meant to be short. And the new rules just help inferior times tried to bleed out the clock rather than win games.
It makes for an infinitely worse viewing experience, and hopefully enough fans and coaches speak up that the NCAA has to do a U-Turn. Otherwise, you’re just getting a sterilized version of the NFL. And that’s not what anybody wants.