The NCAA has moved forward with the implementation of a mid-season rules change following the Oregon Ducks' use of a loophole in how the association penalizes teams for having 12 defenders on the field, specifically with less than two minutes left in the game.
During the Ohio State's final drive that ended with Will Howard sliding with no time left on the clock while in field goal range, Oregon appeared to intentionally put 12 defenders on the field. Lanning has since confirmed it was an intentional decision and not a mistake. Because the clock isn't reset after a 12 men on the field penalty, the Ducks were able to burn time off the clock while defending Ohio State with a one-man advantage.
In statement on the NCAA's website, football secretary-rules editor Steve Shaw, in collaboration with the NCAA Football Rules Committee, issued an interpretation involving defensive teams participating with more than 11 players in the final two minutes of a half.
After the two-minute timeout in either half, if the defense commits a substitution foul and 12 or more players are on the field and participate in a down, officials will penalize the defense for the foul and, at the option of the offended team, reset the game clock back to the time displayed at the snap.
The game clock will then restart on the next snap. If the 12th defender was attempting to exit but was still on the field at the snap and had no influence on the play, then the normal substitution penalty of 5 yards would be enforced with no clock adjustment.
"Football is a very dynamic game," Shaw said in the statement. "Occasionally there are specific situations where committing a penalty can give a team an advantage. A guiding principle of the NCAA Football Rules Committee is that there should be no benefit when a team commits a penalty. The goal of this in-season interpretation is to eliminate a potential clock advantage for committing a substitution foul and take away any gain for the defense if they violate the substitution rule."
