Mark Stoops believes new clock rules will not 'change the game much'

Beginning this fall, major rules changes are coming to college football. No longer will the clock stop after first downs. The rule that has been around since 1968 is no longer and that could lead to some changes in game management and strategy.

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is no stranger to a four-minute offense that uses a ground-and-pound approach to evaporate the clock and shrink games. However, the second-longest tenured head coach in the SEC does not believe that the rules will change the game too much, but adaptability will be needed once real-life scenarios are recorded.

“I try to manage that very well when we were ground-and-pound,” Mark Stoops told reporters on Friday when asked about the new clock rules. “That was very much on my mind throughout games — time management and watching the clock. What our strengths were. What we can do to win football games.”

“I think overall it won’t change the game much. The strategy of it to be determined.”

Throughout talking season, there have been coaches who agree with Stoops’ point of view and some that do not. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel doesn’t think gameplay will change much.

“I don’t think it’s going to have a dramatic, different effect on us versus another offense,” Heupel said at SEC Media Days.

“How you manage your timeouts might be a little different at the end of regulation or the end of the half. All in all, we’ll see what the numbers play out to be. But there’s a series of the game that’s probably taken away in general for every team because of some of the clock rules. But we’ll see how that plays out during the course of the year.”

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy disagrees.

“Now if teams have the ability to rush the ball with a clock that continues to move on first downs, very similar to what you see in the NFL, the game is going to expire much quicker and it’ll be considerably different to what it’s been in the past,” Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days.

These rule changes are being made to cut back on time as more than a handful of college football games last more than four hours. Logic says that teams that can run the football with efficiency could gain more of a time of possession edge and milk the clock. College coaches also must have efficient timeout usage in close games.

However, the games have to play out first. Mark Stoops states that Kentucky will do “what we can to win football games”. But some adjusting could be needed as the season and future seasons progress with these new rules.

“I think overall it won’t change the game much,” Stoops said. “The strategy of it to be determined.”