College football betting early in the season can be a tricky proposition at best, but now that the NCAA has decided to speed up the game with more running clock, the point total (over/under) have been affected mightily!

The case in point is on kickoffs where normally the clock would not start until the receiving team had touched the ball. Now as soon as tow hits the ball, the clock is moving. In some cases where there is a lot of scoring you will see 10-12 kickoffs a game, which will reduce playing time by a minute.

Once the pile has been uncovered and the referee places the ball on the ground, the clock will start. Whereas in previous years, the clock would not begin to move until the offensive team had snapped the ball.

College Football has also tweaked the kicking game rules to try and prevent touchbacks, which occur when the kicking team boots the ball deep in or out of the end zone and the offensive team gets the ball at the 20 yard line.

Major college games played during the season's opening week, employing clock and other changes aimed at picking up the pace, lasted an average of 3 hours, 3 minutes, a notable drop from last year's opening-week average of 3:20.

Thirty-one of the 72 games involving teams in NCAA Division I-A going into Monday night's Florida State-Miami (Fla.) match-up were completed in three hours or less. Only four lasted as long as 3? hours.

A year ago, only five of 52 opening-week games finished in three hours or less. Thirteen went 3? hours or longer.

With the clock running more, you will have less plays and thus the scoring will be down. Indeed, this year's opening games averaged 13 fewer plays than last year's. Teams totaled 101 fewer yards a game, and they scored 4.5 fewer points a game. This is something to consider if you are going to be making any proposition bets at your favorite sportsbook.

The effect was felt, among other places, at Oklahoma where the Sooners and Alabama at Birmingham ran a combined 110 offensive plays in OU's 24-17 victory. It was one of the lowest totals of the weekend and the lowest for a game involving the Sooners in 50 years.

West Virginia and Marshall got in 123 plays, a little below the first-week average of 126 and well beneath the 2005 opening-week average of almost 139.

High scoring machines like West Virginia are used to getting the ball 12-13 times a game, yet on the weekend only had the pigskin 10 times.

Miami-Florida State saw only 23 points in total, which favored the under bettors!

Bob Acton

Sports Betting