I can already see this board is in usual post-loss form, so any post that isn't about how bad we suck or which coaches should be fired probably will be looked down upon, but this is an honest question.
What the heck was the deal with the clock after first downs? I honestly had to go and look to see if there had been some sort of rule change I missed or something (spoiler: there wasn't), because I have never seen this. I have watched numerous college football games over the years, lots of clock drives where teams are trying to conserve time; many involving Nebraska, many not. Not in any one of those hundreds of other games I have watched have I ever seen the clock start that fast after a first down; and it happened numerous times, including on that last drive. In all situations I can remember, after a first down, there is at least a 4 or 5 second gap between the previous play ending and the clock starting; give or take a second or so, much more often give than take. While the rules simply state that the clock starts on the refs signal after a first down, in general the reasoning has always been to give time for the chains to move and reset. In games I have watched, I would say probably at least 90% of the time after a first down play on a clock drive, the offensive team has usually lined up and gotten ready for play, and the refs have to stop them from snapping the ball so the chains can finish setting. It is very rare on clock drives to see more than a second or MAYBE two run off the clock before the ball is snapped.
However, numerous times in this game and especially on that final drive, the clock started nearly instantly after the play was over, sometimes before the ball had even been fully set for play; and certainly well before the chains had a chance to reset. Even if you had two people with Usain Bolt level speed running the chains, there's no way they could have reset that quickly. In at least one instance, I could see the chain gang still moving to setup in the background AFTER Nebraska had snapped the ball with the clock already running.
Again, I know it's sacrilege on this board to do anything but bash the team and talk about how bad we suck, after a loss, but that strangeness with the clock could very well have cost quite a bit of time. I would estimate; I didn't sit down and time it or anything; that Nebraska lost AT LEAST 10 seconds or so, probably more, on that last drive because of the clock starting so quick after first downs. 10 seconds, and probably more, would have been HUGE with how that game ended. Imagine 4th and 4 with 17 seconds left, instead of 7. Could have thrown a quick pass to the middle of the field, gotten a first down, and with the clock stopping the normal amount of time for a first down, clocked it and still had at least two, maybe three shots at the endzone.
This isn't meant to absolve anyone of poor play or decision making, and it's not (necessarily) blaming the refs for losing. It is saying Nebraska should have had a little more time to try and tie the game at the end there. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, as I'm sure most people who read this will say, but it was still different than anything I've seen before, and very well could have changed the outcome of the game.
What the heck was the deal with the clock after first downs? I honestly had to go and look to see if there had been some sort of rule change I missed or something (spoiler: there wasn't), because I have never seen this. I have watched numerous college football games over the years, lots of clock drives where teams are trying to conserve time; many involving Nebraska, many not. Not in any one of those hundreds of other games I have watched have I ever seen the clock start that fast after a first down; and it happened numerous times, including on that last drive. In all situations I can remember, after a first down, there is at least a 4 or 5 second gap between the previous play ending and the clock starting; give or take a second or so, much more often give than take. While the rules simply state that the clock starts on the refs signal after a first down, in general the reasoning has always been to give time for the chains to move and reset. In games I have watched, I would say probably at least 90% of the time after a first down play on a clock drive, the offensive team has usually lined up and gotten ready for play, and the refs have to stop them from snapping the ball so the chains can finish setting. It is very rare on clock drives to see more than a second or MAYBE two run off the clock before the ball is snapped.
However, numerous times in this game and especially on that final drive, the clock started nearly instantly after the play was over, sometimes before the ball had even been fully set for play; and certainly well before the chains had a chance to reset. Even if you had two people with Usain Bolt level speed running the chains, there's no way they could have reset that quickly. In at least one instance, I could see the chain gang still moving to setup in the background AFTER Nebraska had snapped the ball with the clock already running.
Again, I know it's sacrilege on this board to do anything but bash the team and talk about how bad we suck, after a loss, but that strangeness with the clock could very well have cost quite a bit of time. I would estimate; I didn't sit down and time it or anything; that Nebraska lost AT LEAST 10 seconds or so, probably more, on that last drive because of the clock starting so quick after first downs. 10 seconds, and probably more, would have been HUGE with how that game ended. Imagine 4th and 4 with 17 seconds left, instead of 7. Could have thrown a quick pass to the middle of the field, gotten a first down, and with the clock stopping the normal amount of time for a first down, clocked it and still had at least two, maybe three shots at the endzone.
This isn't meant to absolve anyone of poor play or decision making, and it's not (necessarily) blaming the refs for losing. It is saying Nebraska should have had a little more time to try and tie the game at the end there. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, as I'm sure most people who read this will say, but it was still different than anything I've seen before, and very well could have changed the outcome of the game.