College football rule changes & bettors

Rule changes in sports can go underappreciated or even unnoticed altogether by bettors, but the impact of on wagering activity can, of course, be quite significant, especially early on in a season.

There are a couple of rule changes in store for college football in 2008 that could turn out to be important from a betting perspective. With the average NCAA football game running more than three hours and 20 minutes in 2007, the new rules are intended to shorten the length of games. In 2006, similar rule changes had unexpectedly major results, resulting in fewer plays per game in general and lower scoring per game as a consequence.

Click on graphic for video report.

In the early weeks of 2006, sharp bettors cleaned up betting unders in anticipation of this while less informed bettors were left holding the bag – so these new rule changes which are aimed at solving the same problem as the ones in 2006 clearly bear paying close attention.

The two new rules that could impact the pace of games and the number of scoring opportunities are a new 40-second play clock similar to what is currently run in the NFL, and a different way of handling the game clock on out-of-bounds plays.

The general consensus is that the new rules may encourage more no-huddle offenses, and reward teams that run it well, while on the totals front the feeling is that the new rules won’t affect overall scoring much at all. There have, however, been some in the know who have predicted that once again scoring will be reduced, although not as drastically as it was in 2006.

However things do turn out on the gridiron in the coming weeks, this matter definitely warrants the attention of any serious college football bettor, and certain key indicators that the new rules are or are not impacting the flow of play should be noted.