3 Hour FB game???

[9Steelman]

What ever happen to 3 hour football games? Our bowl game 4 hours, championship game 4 hours. Most TV FB games are all close to 4 hours. (TV BB games 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours use to all be finished in 2 hours). I suppose. TV commercials are the reason. Champion game had 4 TV stoppage between start of 4th quarter to 10:35 left.

[asu66]

It's all about $$$$$$$$

[QueencityApp]

It personally drives me nuts while watching a game on TV and a team scores, the game goes to commercial, then comes back for the ensuing kickoff and immediately goes back into another commercial break after the kick is fielded. Add insult to injury when I have to sit through another round of those stupid Morris Jenkins commercials. Just the worst. Happens for college and NFL games.

[WataugaMan]

It personally drives me nuts while watching a game on TV and a team scores, the game goes to commercial, then comes back for the ensuing kickoff and immediately goes back into another commercial break after the kick is fielded. Add insult to injury when I have to sit through another round of those stupid Morris Jenkins commercials. Just the worst. Happens for college and NFL games.

However, it provides enough time to go to the bathroom, grab another beer, and get back in time to not miss much.

[bigCasu]

The professional games seems to remain pretty consistent, regarding the time to play games. I think college football should consider eliminating the clock stopping at first downs to reset the chains. I feel that's a big reason why the college game seems to last forever anymore.

[Appstate88]

For the love of the game and to keep games around 3 hours when televised, No more TV timeouts after a turnover, punt, or score. I wish commercials were only allowed between coin toss and kickoff, between quarters/half-time, when a team calls time out or when a player is seriously injured.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

1. Clock stops to move the chains
2. College QBs typically have a lower completion percentage than an NFL QB, meaning they are throwing more incompletions to stop the clock. Teams are passing more and more. Army v.s. Navy doesn't take 4 hours because they run a lot.
3. And to me the biggest reason...Every play goes under review in college. NFL coaches get two (three if they win the first two) challenges and all scoring plays are reviewed, that's it. College reviews what seems to be everything.
4. Television revenue
5. The NCAA/ESPN don't care. NFL tells Fox and CBS...Our 1 o clock games need to have all efforts made to finish before the 4 o clock games begin. What does ESPN do if the noon Ohio State game runs over? They just throw the 330 game on ESPN U. NCAA/ESPN have no sense of urgency.
6. Refs take forever to discuss a penalty.

I agree, it's becoming ridiculous, but as television revenue dominates sports, it will continue.

I don't mind App State home games taking longer. It makes the 6 hours drive even more worth it.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

The professional games seems to remain pretty consistent, regarding the time to play games. I think college football should consider eliminating the clock stopping at first downs to reset the chains. I feel that's a big reason why the college game seems to last forever anymore.

I am not sure if Michigan #1 would have turned out the way it did had the clock not stopped on that last drive when we got a new first down. But that does slow the game down a bit.

[APPdiesel]

For the love of the game and to keep games around 3 hours when televised, No more TV timeouts after a turnover, punt, or score. I wish commercials were only allowed between coin toss and kickoff, between quarters/half-time, when a team calls time out or when a player is seriously injured.

Lol, when you can afford to buy a multi billion dollar TV network, foot the cost of game day production, all the while paying share holders their dividends out of pocket, feel free to throttle back on the TV timeouts.

I had a media professor at App tell me: "radio (and this applies to TV as well) isn't *REALLY* about delivering entertainment to the audience, it's about delivering an audience to advertisers".

[AppState89]

Ga Southern vs Navy would take about 1hr without the timeouts...LOL

[EastHallApp]

2. College QBs typically have a lower completion percentage than an NFL QB, meaning they are throwing more incompletions to stop the clock. Teams are passing more and more. Army v.s. Navy doesn't take 4 hours because they run a lot.

If we're comparing to the past, this is the biggest difference - way more passing and way more scoring. Every incomplete pass stops the clock, every score is a commercial break (or the equivalent stoppage).

And of course the reviews which you also mentioned.

[bcoach]

For the love of the game and to keep games around 3 hours when televised, No more TV timeouts after a turnover, punt, or score. I wish commercials were only allowed between coin toss and kickoff, between quarters/half-time, when a team calls time out or when a player is seriously injured.

Lol, when you can afford to buy a multi billion dollar TV network, foot the cost of game day production, all the while paying share holders their dividends out of pocket, feel free to throttle back on the TV timeouts.

I had a media professor at App tell me: "radio (and this applies to TV as well) isn't *REALLY* about delivering entertainment to the audience, it's about delivering an audience to advertisers".

That is the absolute truth. The product is nothing but an expense. The advertisers are the income. ESPN would do cooking shows if it produced more advertising dollars.