One-sided games are common in college football, especially when a top-ranked team faces a weaker opponent looking for experience or recovering from a tough season. This year’s largest FBS victory margin was 74 points when Florida State trounced East Texas A&M 77-3 in Week 2. Alabama and Indiana each won by a 73-point margin in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively.
USC, Tennessee, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Washington, and Notre Dame were the other teams that scored 70 or more points, while Oregon manhandled Oklahoma State 69-3 in Week 2. These lopsided scores prompt a central question: Does collefloridage football have a mercy rule to limit extreme blowouts?
Does College Football Apply a Mercy Rule in Lopsided Games?
Scoring as many points as possible improves a team’s playoff chances, but blowouts have prompted some fans and experts to advocate for a mercy rule in college football. Still, NCAA rules do not limit the winning team’s score in a lopsided game.
Despite the absence of an official mercy rule, teams have ways to address lopsided games. For example, coaches can agree to shorten play time by running the clock even if there is an incompletion or a player runs out of bounds. This approach minimizes injuries while acknowledging the imbalance.
“Before the game starts, playing time and the intermission between halves may be shortened by the referee if he is of the opinion that darkness or other conditions may interfere with the game. The four periods must be of equal length if the game is shortened before its start,” according to the rules.
“Any time during the game, the playing time of any remaining period or periods may be shortened by mutual agreement of the opposing head coaches and the referee,” it added.
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There have been instances in which college football programs have reduced the play clock in recent years. Last season, Auburn and Alabama agreed to play 10-minute quarters instead of the standard 15 in the second half after the Tigers led 52-3 at halftime. Two seasons ago, Syracuse took a 49-0 advantage over Wagner into the second half when the programs agreed to 10-minute quarters.
Avoiding contact-related injuries is the primary purpose of shortening the play clock in a college football game with a lopsided score. Florida State receiver Squirrel White was hurt in the early part of the game against East Texas A&M. He was taken to the locker room for further tests.
Although he recovered and played in three more games for the Seminoles, White didn’t see action after the Clemson game on November 8, in which he ran for negative yardage in the 24-10 loss.
Mississippi State Speeds Up the Game Against Alcorn State After Scoring 63 Straight Points
There are other reasons teams shorten a lopsided game without needing a mercy rule. Mississippi State was leading 42-0 in the first half over Alcorn State in its Week 3 clash when the Bulldogs allowed the Braves to shorten the game.
The match was already decided by that time, and both teams were just running through the motions when the coaching staffs of both teams decided to reduce the game to two 10-minute quarters. Another reason is Alcorn’s famous “Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite” HBCU marching band. The band needed to pack up and hit the road for a performance in a New Orleans game on Sept. 14.
Although it’s exciting to have teams score as many points as they can against a weak opponent, the stronger team can spare the other squad further embarrassment by agreeing to shorten the game. This also lessens the possibility of injury and boosts sportsmanship among teams.
