One of the biggest adjustments Oregon offensive coordinator Gary Crowton has made, now eight games into the season, isn’t with player personnel or opposing defenses. It isn’t necessarily just with his offensive game plan, either.
Rather, Crowton and coaches across the country were forced to adjust to a new set of rules established by the NCAA designed to shorten the time of the game. The changes are starting the clock when the ball is kicked – as opposed to when the ball is caught – on kickoffs, and when the ball is placed after a change of possession when previously the clock started only when the ball was snapped.
Eight games into the season, the rules have achieved what they intended. Oregon’s longest game this season, against Oklahoma, lasted 3:54 while last season’s longest game, against Washington, lasted 4:33.
The faster-paced games equate to fewer total plays. In Oregon’s opener against Stanford, the Ducks had a total of 71 plays compared to 85 in last season’s opener at Houston.
Fewer opportunities to score is one big adjustment Crowton has had to make, especially when the team falls in an early hole such as in games at California and Washington State.
“When you have guys on special teams, and they’re coming off the field and you’re trying to huddle on the sidelines … the clock gets started and you lose about 10 seconds,” Crowton said. “Or you make them sprint there and they’re tired from running all the way down covering a kick and then all the way back into the huddle then all the way back on the field.”
The majority of the Oregon coaches opposed the new rules from the start and have led the verbal outrage along with a few others, including Texas’ Mack Brown, who said, “I hate it,” after his loss to now-No. 1 Ohio State.
Prior to the season, head coach Mike Bellotti told USA Today he was, “appalled at the rule changes” and that they will “change the game as we know it.”
Crowton backed Bellotti’s statement with his observations so far this season.
“When you get down, it’s harder to come back (with the new rules),” Crowton said. “You always have a chance to come back but at the same time, you don’t have as many possessions as you would in the years previous.”
In the 34-23 loss to the Cougars, the Ducks fell behind 13-3 in the first half and had just two possessions in the second quarter before shifting to a no-huddle, pass-first offense to save time. But, following the game, Crowton pointed to the direct effect the new rules had on his game plan, saying, “The game’s a little different with the new rule so you can’t get down early in the game because the first half goes so fast.”
Notes
– Bellotti said he was still “shocked” that no flags were thrown after watching the replay of Portland State free safety Charles Manigo’s tackle on Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart. The tackle occurred nearly 10 yards out-of-bounds and ended with Stewart hitting a bench and suffering an abdominal strain. Bellotti said he is sending a report to the Pac-10 officials and will personally talk to Verle Sorgen, the conference’s coordinator of football officiating.
“I’m sure the officials will be graded down,” Bellotti said, referring to part of the officiating crew that worked the Oklahoma game.
– Add running back Andiel Brown and wide receiver Derrick Jones to the list of Oregon’s injured. Jones likely will undergo surgery or get a second opinion on his ankle while Brown, a standout punt returner against the Vikings with 104 yards, underwent surgery Monday on his broken hand. Brown is out a minimum of two weeks and then will play with a cast or splint for the remainder of the season, which will not allow him to return punts. Running back Jeremiah Johnson, cornerback Walter Thurmond and rover Patrick Chung will compete for the punt-returning duties. Bellotti said strong safety Jerome Boyd returned to practice this week after a knee injury earlier in the season.
– With Brown and fellow running back Chris Vincent out, Bellotti said Oregon likely will play true freshman Andre Crenshaw on special teams and as the team’s third-string running back. Crenshaw, a 5-foot-10 inch, 188-pounder from Lancaster, Calif., beat out fellow freshman Remene Alston Jr.
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