Traditionally the first week of the college football season contains many “warmup” games that have a Top 25 team versus a team that is ranked in the tail end of the 130. These games have produced some pretty lopsided results in the past. Coaches normally want to get the starters a decent amount of work and then get the second team in to finish things in the late third or fourth quarter. In the off season, College Football adapted a new rule that allows players to play in up to 4 games without losing a season of eligibility. See more about the new rule here.
The new rule adds incentive for coaches to take the blowout games as an opportunity to take a look at freshmen, scout team players, and transfers that may be able to bring value to the team down the line. Blake James the chairman of the Division 1 that made the decision explains it as follows:
“This change promotes not only fairness for college athletes, but also their health and well-being. Redshirt football student-athletes are more likely to remain engaged with the team, and starters will be less likely to feel pressure to play through injuries. Coaches will appreciate the additional flexibility and ability to give younger players an opportunity to participate in limited competition.”
Coaches taking the opportunity to check out new players could impact how much games get out of hand. Take a look at some of the NFL preseason game scores to see how inexperienced players can produce some low scoring games. Starters get most of the reps in practice thus making it harder for a limited practice rep players coming into the game to be polished.
Ohio St and Wisconsin should be able to score as many points as they want this week. Will they choose to run up the score or take the opportunity to get a look at some of the young guys? Only time will tell if the new rule will impact the scores of the blowout games.
Be the first to comment