Hauck favors rules to slow offenses

Some college football coaches have been critical of the proposed rule change designed to slow offenses.

Not UNLV’s Bobby Hauck.

He said the proposed change of forcing offenses to wait at least 10 seconds before snapping the ball to allow the defense to substitute doesn’t go far enough.

“I think they should go 15 seconds instead of 10,” Hauck said in a text message. “And it’s sound thinking from a safety standpoint to let exhausted players be substituted for.”

The NCAA Football Rules committee passed the proposal, which goes before the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on March 6. If approved, the rule will be enforced beginning in the 2014 season, resulting in a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty for a violation.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, the rules committee chairman, said in a statement: “As the average number of plays per game has increased, this issue has been discussed with greater frequency by the committee in recent years, and we felt like it was time to act in the interest of protecting our student-athletes.”

High-tempo offenses have become more commonplace in recent seasons, and some defenses have even faked injuries to try to slow the pace.

This rule change is pitting coaches who favor those kinds of offenses against those who worry about an overly tired defense staying on the field.

Perhaps it’s little surprise Hauck, whose background is in defense, would favor the rule and someone such as Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez, known for his high-tempo offenses, would take to media platforms to express outrage.

“It’s ridiculous,” Rodriguez told USA Today. “It’s a fundamental rule of football that the offense has two advantages: knowing where they’re going and when they’re going. The defense has one advantage: They can move all 11 guys before the snap.

“What’s next, you gonna go to three downs rather than four downs? It’s silly.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65