Southeastern Conference football teams have been involved in exceptionally long games the past couple of weeks.
The most recent example is Arkansas’ 71-63 win against Kentucky in seven overtime periods on Nov. 1, a game that lasted 4 hours and 56 minutes. The Razorbacks outscored the Wildcats 47-39 in OT.
Arkansas has now played three of the longest college football games in history. Arkansas tied its own record of the most OTs in a single game with seven on Saturday. The Hogs also played seven OTs against Ole Miss in 2001 with a 58-56 win.
Tennessee defeated Alabama 51-43 in five OTs on Oct. 25, a game that lasted 4 hours and 53 minutes. The Volunteers outscored the Crimson Tide 31-23 in OT.
The third longest overtime game involved both Tennessee and Arkansas. The Vols defeated the Hogs 41-38 in six OTs in 4 hours and 9 minutes.
I love OT just as much as the next guy, but these games are ridiculous. While these lengthy OT games are entertaining to fans, the NCAA must realize they are detrimental to the athletes involved.
In the Hogs’ win against UK, both teams had nearly 100 plays on offense and defense. This is nearly 30 or 40 more plays than in a regulation game.
There’s no telling how many players were hooked up to IVs after these long games. With that many plays, the risk of injury must increase because of the physical nature of the game.
One old-timer said he didn’t believe in OT during that UA-UK showdown because nobody should lose a game that is tied after regulation. I’m not anti-OT, but I do think some modifications should be made to the college system.
The problem seems to be that the offense has a distinct advantage against the defense. A 24-24 tie at the end of regulation can suddenly turn into a 71-63 score, more typical of a basketball game.
Why should the offensive team start with the ball on the opposing team’s 25-yard line?
Most teams are within field goal range at the 25-yard line and that’s not a difficult distance to score a touchdown from because the team can potentially gain two first downs during the drive.
The NCAA has to make one of two modifications here. They could move the ball back to the opposing team’s 40-yard line or give a team only four downs from the 25.
Moving the ball back to the 40 seems more reasonable. Making the offensive team start at a field position that is outside field goal range definitely is an equalizer for the defense. Also, many teams would probably have difficulty sustaining touchdown drives of this length. Kicking a 40-yard field goal is much more difficult than scoring a 25-yard touchdown drive.
Giving a team only four downs to score from the 25-yard line would probably be an equalizer for the defense as well. Many of the drives in the UA-UK game during OT were more than five or six plays. This rule would have eliminated some of those OTs, especially the later ones.
The XFL actually had another variation of overtime. The team that had the ball first got four downs to score, but the other team had to score in the same number of plays. I know the XFL didn’t work, but that was a good idea.
Teams also should be forced to go for two-point conversions from the first OT, instead of the third OT. I can’t recall seeing an extra point being the deciding factor in an OT game. PATs are just too automatic. Two-point conversions are more exciting and less likely to be converted.
Leaving games tied is not an option for the NCAA. OT games are great and exciting. Just make them shorter.