A Copycat Crime

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema's slick move that exploited a loophole in the new 3-2-5-e rule Saturday didn't go unnoticed. North Dakota State coach Craig Bohl was among those watching the Penn State-Wisconsin game and copied Bielema's strategy in the Bison's 28-24 victory at California Davis. After North Dakota State scored with four seconds remaining to take the lead, Bohl intentionally had his kickoff team go offside. Because the new rule calls for the clock to start when the kicker touches the ball, the four seconds ran off the clock. Davis never had a chance to set up a return because Bison players had surrounded the Aggies' Nevan Bergan when he fielded the ball at his two-yard line. The five-yard offside penalty was enforced and North Dakota State had to kick again. This time kicker Shawn Bibeau booted a dribbler that went about 20 yards downfield that was easily covered. "I think when the pendulum swings, it swings too far," Bohl said. "I understand the intent of the rule. It had an impact on the Wisconsin game." When Bohl first told his players about his plan to kick twice, "One player said, 'Coach, that means we have to tackle them twice,' " Bohl said. "Well, that's your job." ... Meanwhile former Badger coach Barry Alvarez praised Bielema for exploiting the rule. "It was a hell of a call," Alvarez said. "If Joe Paterno does that everyone says it's genius." ... This brings us to this week's breakdown on the impact of 3-2-5-e from Marty of the terrific cfbstats. One note: The Texas-Oklahoma State game on TBS, which was supposed to be almost commercial-free because of a unique sponsorship deal, clocked in at 3:09, which tied for the 24th longest game of the week. We didn't see that game, so we're not sure why it ran so long. Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent for his help (some registration).

Overall...G........Plays......Plays/G....Min.......Min/G......Time/G
2005......541.....91195.....168.57.....108094*....200.71.....3:20:10
2006......586.....89332.....152.44....109287.....186.50.....3:06.30
* missing game duration of Toledo-Ball State 10/15/2005

Year......G........Points.....Pts/G
2005......541.....28367.....52.43
2006......586.....27703.....47.27

Year.......G.....1H Pts....1H Pts/G...2H Pts....2H Pts/G...OT
2005......541...14303.....26.44......13699.....25.32.......365
2006......586...14439.....24.64......12935.....22.07.......329

Here are the shortest games from Week 10:
Northwestern State-Mississippi State: 2:32
Arkansas State-Auburn: 2:35
Brigham Young-Colorado State: 2:38
Kent State-Buffalo: 2:40
Navy-Duke: 2:41

Here are the longest games from Week 10:
Georgia Tech-North Carolina State: 3:50
Louisiana State-Tennessee: 3:41
Tulane-Marshall: 3:29
West Virginia-Louisville: 3:28
Pittsburgh-South Florida: 3:23