Canada Rules!

I’m generally not a rule-change guy.

The NHL used to be my favorite American sport. Then, in 2004-05, there was a lockout, and in an effort to regain fans, Gary Bettman – a man who can best be described as having the worst qualities of the commissioners of the three other major sports – and his cronies decided to make rule changes that led to dramatically increased scoring.

Don’t worry, this isn’t an NHL blog, you can keep reading. That is simply a historical lesson of the dangers of changing rules in a way which can alienate long-time fans.

Here’s the thing. College football is facing a crossroads. Because of the increasingly more complex spread offenses that are sweeping the nation, defenses can’t keep up. And that’s the understatement of the month.

I don’t want to sound like one of these old men who insists everything was better in his day. Hell, I still consider this “my day.” But Lou Holtz would be rolling over in his grave if he saw a national championship game with an over/under of 74.

I think we should look to Canada for the answer (There’s a sentence you’ve never read before and likely will never read again).

See, in the Canadian Football League, they get three downs. As in, a third-and-three is often a punting situation. Well, I recommend the NCAA institute the same rule.

On the surface, I can see how this sounds blasphemous. And one of the things I find most ridiculous in sports is a different set of rules in the college and professional versions of a sport.

However, in recent years, there is less and less similarity in the college and professional games anyway. The main difference is that NFL defenses are still on par with NFL offenses, while every time a college defense forces a punt, the players react as if they have just collectively lost their virginity.

Never mind what Auburn and Oregon did offensively this season on their way to Glendale. The 103^rd ranked scoring offense scored 21 points per game. Duke scored over 25 ppg. Duke!

You’ve never heard of most of these guys unless you are a hardcore college football fan: Mikel Leshoure, Bilal Powell, Edwin Baker, Knile Davis, Jay Finley, James White, Isaiah Pead, Montee Ball, Ray Graham, Lamar Miller. What do they have in common? They all played in major conferences, averaged over 10 carries per game and over six yards per rush attempt. I mean, these aren’t even elite guys. Then there’s Alex Green, who is averaging 8.78 yards per carry.

Of the top 10 teams, the worst yards per pass attempt was by Oregon’s Darren Thomas, at 7.84. All he did this year was lead an offense that scored over 40 points ten times, over 50 points six times, over 60 points three times and over 70 points once.

That’s not how the game is meant to be played. It used to be that these numbers were reserved for video games. In this rare case, the rules must be changed to make the game more like professional football.

Four downs is too much. Even at three, scoring will be high. Games won’t be any less exciting. Just look to hockey, where the game has become so open it’s not worth watching.