You're not seeing things. College football games are different -- here's how
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- FBS offenses averaged 2.24 points per drive in 2025 — the highest of the last decade — yet overall scoring fell nearly 8% since 2016 (28.4 to 26.2 offensive points per game) because teams use 7% more time between plays and run 11% fewer drives per game.
- The tempo era has ended: average seconds per play climbed from 25.1 in 2016 to 26.9 in 2023 and has held there since, with just two teams (Florida Atlantic at 21.3, South Florida at 21.8) averaging under 22 seconds per play in 2025, down from 16 teams in 2015.
- Miami's 24-14 Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State illustrated the trend: the Buckeyes ran just 59 plays (5 below their season average) despite gaining 5.6 yards per play, and their season average of 31.4 seconds per play ranked second slowest nationally.
- Ohio State coach Ryan Day mismanaged timeouts at the end of the second quarter, burning them after the two-minute timeout had already arrived and costing the Buckeyes at least 18 seconds; Jayden Fielding then missed a 49-yard field goal as time expired.
- The 2024 two-minute timeout — an NFL-style two-minute warning — has reshaped late-half game management, with NC State coach Dave Doeren calling it "a huge change" and making it his "whole offseason project."
- Huddling is resurgent: Indiana led FBS with 1,024 snaps from the huddle in 2025, Miami ranked third with 954, and 23 teams logged 700-plus huddle plays — up from just five in 2023.
- National title game opponents Indiana and Miami both ranked in the top 11 nationally in time of possession per play, each averaging over 30 seconds, reflecting coaches' focus on keeping rosters healthy across 17-game seasons.
Why it matters: For coaches built around up-tempo offenses — Heupel, Kiffin, Golesh — the shift toward clock-control play creates a strategic mismatch, as 17-game seasons push programs toward roster preservation over pace. The 2024 two-minute timeout rule has turned late-half clock management into a new coaching frontier — one that cost Ohio State a potential game-tying drive in the Cotton Bowl.
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