Does Rule 3-2-5-e Fail to Shorten Games?

Week 1 is complete and the data is starting to roll in on the number of plays lost because of rule 3-2-5-e, which the Wiz has been ranting about all summer. The rule was instituted because games were too long. Check this out: Saturday's Alabama Birmingham-Oklahoma game featured only 110 offensive plays, the fewest for a Sooner game over the last 50 years! That bested the 112 offensive plays in the 1960 game against Colorado and the 1962 matchup against Missouri. Here is where it gets interesting: The game lasted three hours 16 minutes. Last year, Oklahoma's shortest game was three hours 13 minutes (against Kansas in Kansas City). So the 3-2-5-e rule results in fewer plays and games that last just as long. Frigging brilliant! Judging by this example, 3-2-5-e doesn't work and officials are merely running circles around the real problem: Too many commercials! We would be curious to know if more commercial time has been sold for telecasts this season. If anybody can help answer that, please let us know. If requested, we will keep your identity a secret. As a point of reference, the shortest Oklahoma game in the Bob Stoops era was the 2004 affair against Nebraska, completed in two hours 49 minutes. Now if you haven't checked out John Niyo's fabulous piece in the Detroit News we linked to Monday, you must take a look. The Vanderbilt-Michigan game had 125 plays. Last season, Michigan games averaged 145 plays. At this alarming rate, it can only be a season or two before we have more commercials than plays. Stay tuned, and thanks to the Midwest Correspondent for his help.