When to stop the clock on a Field Goal

[the clown]

Last nights game we ran into this scenario.  10 seconds left in the half.  A throws an incomplete pass 20 yards down field and the clock stops at 7 seconds which I don't really believe but I'm just the umpire and earlier it took a good clock operator 2 minutes to add 10 seconds to a neutral sight clock they were not familiar with.  So with 7 seconds we have a field goal.  The ball is kicked from about thirty yards out.  The BJ and HL agree with the whole "Good Good - Step - Go Up"  beautifully done if I might add.  And the play that should take about 4 seconds, takes 7.  One team is running off the field happy and the other is a little dismayed at us and the clock operator.  I know the ball is dead when it crosses the plain of the goal line.  At that point should there be a whistle?  Does the signal stop the clock?   What is the correct mechanic for someone too lazy to look it up?

[ALStripes17]

Last nights game we ran into this scenario.  10 seconds left in the half.  A throws an incomplete pass 20 yards down field and the clock stops at 7 seconds which I don't really believe but I'm just the umpire and earlier it took a good clock operator 2 minutes to add 10 seconds to a neutral sight clock they were not familiar with.  So with 7 seconds we have a field goal.  The ball is kicked from about thirty yards out.  The BJ and HL agree with the whole "Good Good - Step - Go Up"  beautifully done if I might add.  And the play that should take about 4 seconds, takes 7.  One team is running off the field happy and the other is a little dismayed at us and the clock operator.  I know the ball is dead when it crosses the plain of the goal line.  At that point should there be a whistle?  Does the signal stop the clock?   What is the correct mechanic for someone too lazy to look it up?

The correct mechanic is to get a new clock operator.

In all seriousness, clock stops when the ball is dead. In this case, when kick crosses the goal line.

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[CalhounLJ]

A successful field goal with 7 seconds left would end the half EVERY TIME if I were the clock operator.
Just saying....

[prab]

A successful field goal with 7 seconds left would end the half EVERY TIME if I were the clock operator.
Just saying....

WOW!

[FLAHL]

A successful field goal with 7 seconds left would end the half EVERY TIME if I were the clock operator.
Just saying....

I'm good with that. Most high school kickers don't move toward the ball until it is placed by the holder. Could easily be 2 seconds for snap and hold, 3-4 seconds of ball in the air.  On a successful scoring attempt, the clock doesn't stop until the ball crosses the crossbar, and I can't expect the ECO to stop the clock precisely at that moment.

[AlUpstateNY]

The correct mechanic is to get a new clock operator. In all seriousness, clock stops when the ball is dead. In this case, when kick crosses the goal line. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Are you sure of that?  The closest I can find (in NFHS 3-4-4 is #g "A score ot Touchback occurs"),  Since very few, if any ECO positions are manned from either goal line, it would be extremely unlikely an ECO would know, Precisely, when a ball crossed the goal, or in most situations actually passed between the posts. 

In most, if not EVERY situation, it's a least doubtful a whistle would be heard in a booth.  I guess it's possible for the official(s) on the scrimmage line, to move quickly to the goal line and signal "Touchback" (sig 7), but that seems somewhat excessive and removes focus from the line play action, which in most instances is more relevant. 

The official signal (good/no-good) seems more likely consistent.

 Actually the only reference I can find for a whistle, in the Official's Manual under field Goal/Try, is under BJ, L, FJ (6-B-2) "Sound whistle when successful kick passes upright or when it is apparently unsuccessful after breaking the goal-line plain"

[LAZebra]

A successful field goal with 7 seconds left would end the half EVERY TIME if I were the clock operator.
Just saying....

I agree completely!

[SouthGARef]

A successful field goal with 7 seconds left would end the half EVERY TIME if I were the clock operator.
Just saying....

Any reason why, or just because you want it to? A 30 yard field goal takes <7s probably 99% of the time.

I hate this whole mentality of "don't stop the clock with less than two seconds". Tell Auburn and Alabama fans that one second can't make the difference in a ballgame. The clock stops when it stops. If that's one second, it's one second.

We're going to do about 160 plays in a game. What's one more?

[BIG UMP]

I can see 7 seconds on a 30+ yard field goal.  Snap, hold, kick air time, officials communication and signal and time for ECO to hit the switch. 


The clock can't stop when the ball crosses the GL because no one is there to indicate it and an ECO better not guess.

[Ralph Damren]

Welcome, Clown, to the forum. may you find it both entertaining and informative. The ticker should be ticking until the  signal or  . As a NCAA clock operator I always stayed focused on the playing action and not what the clock read. I recall once stopping the clock as the runner was signaled OOB. Glancing then at the clock I realized it read 0:00.8 LEFT IN THE HALF. The run put the visitors in field goal range.... the home coach wasn't happy .......the home fans followed the coach's cue ......the opposing kicker shanked the field goal attempt .....I lived to run the clock again .....but, I felt I did it correctly.

[GAHSUMPIRE]

Welcome, Clown, to the forum. may you find it both entertaining and informative. The ticker should be ticking until the  signal or  . As a NCAA clock operator I always stayed focused on the playing action and not what the clock read. I recall once stopping the clock as the runner was signaled OOB. Glancing then at the clock I realized it read 0:00.8 LEFT IN THE HALF. The run put the visitors in field goal range.... the home coach wasn't happy .......the home fans followed the coach's cue ......the opposing kicker shanked the field goal attempt .....I lived to run the clock again .....but, I felt I did it correctly.

Whose bright idea was it to use tenths of seconds anyway?

[Ralph Damren]

Whose bright idea was it to use tenths of seconds anyway?

Them there fancy clock makers, I 'spect. Many of us Mainers have just recently graduated from sundials to hour glasses.

[Rulesman]

Whose bright idea was it to use tenths of seconds anyway?

Most control boards have a way to disable tenths. There is no need for tenths in football.

[bossman72]

Most control boards have a way to disable tenths. There is no need for tenths in football.

Literally 100% of clock operators in our area have no idea how to turn off the tenths.

[Matt]

I ran the clock at a local school this year. The clock got stopped as soon as I had some sort of signal( , or a whistle). That did include stopping the clock on a field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock at the end of the first half.

The first thing I did was turn off the tenths. This controller was used only at the football field and stays in the box all year. They have a different controller for basketball where I beleive they do use tenths.

[NVFOA_Ump]

Most control boards have a way to disable tenths. There is no need for tenths in football.

Agreed, but if the "real time" is 00:00.1 and you have disabled the tenths display, the clock will read 00:01.  The change in format to tenths just confuses the masses and has no purpose in football IMO.

And waiting until the officials under the posts walk out, and then do the yes or no, then the signal, is incorrect.  We instruct all CO's to stop the clock when it's clear that the kick has crossed the end line or touched the ground in the EZ whichever comes first. 

[LAZebra]

Our mechanics, in Alabama, require that the clock only stop when signaled to do so by an on field official. We teach our ECOs that if the field crew makes an error in stopping or starting the clock then they will correct it accordingly. We do not want our ECOs making the decision to start or stop the clock on their own.

[Bama Ref]

  The BJ and HL agree with the whole "Good Good - Step - Go Up"  beautifully done if I might add. 

I don't have a problem with the clock expiring. My issue is an umpire being able to critique the mechanics of the guys under the uprights on a 30 yard field goal.   

[AlUpstateNY]

Perhaps some of those field officials, who have never been inside a "booth", might benefit from some generic considerations most ECOs have little, if any, control over.

At the HS level, in general, no two booths are identical:
a. there is a variety of controllers, some older, some newer and like opinions, each is a little different.
b. some offer unobstructed glass walls, MOST have windows, that come with pillars, some a lot wider than others, that create temporary blind spots that need to be "worked around".
c. field lighting is unique to each site, some are great, most suck(at the HS level).
d. Many are high enough above the crowd, to avoid fan obstruction, many are not.  For reasons known only to God, fans on the top row ALWAYS stand, if it's raining they ALL come with umbrellas.
e. Many booths get crowded (authorized/unauthorized) people, that can cause (momentary) distractions, that ONLY happen at the worst times.
f. Every now and then, clocks, or controllers, decided to act on their own (running your own back-up clock is a sound idea).
g. Coaches in the booth ask as many stupid questions as coaches on the sideline.
h. Wing officials, under 7'2" tall, get lost from sight, intermittently on the far sideline in front of the team box and are TOTALLY INVISIBLE on most near sideline team box areas, rendering most, if not all, incomplete pass signals given below the shoulders - invisible  (SO IMPORTANT for middle field officials to relay Signal 3 and other relevant signals along both sidelines).
i. Time Out signalling, please don't be subtle, or stand on the sideline.  Make your signal a "Big Deal" while moving away from sideline or players.  Look at the clock as you signal.  (REMEMBER: neither coaches nor players can ever CALL Time Out, they can REQUEST that YOU call Time Out, so it starts when YOU signal, not when THEY request (or started thinking about requesting).
j. Just as "Football is a game of inches" is a misunderstood myth, so is precision to the 1/10th of seconds.
   

[ALStripes17]

Our mechanics, in Alabama, require that the clock only stop when signaled to do so by an on field official. We teach our ECOs that if the field crew makes an error in stopping or starting the clock then they will correct it accordingly. We do not want our ECOs making the decision to start or stop the clock on their own.

Do we have that in the mechanics manual?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[UmpSC]

I don't have a problem with the clock expiring. My issue is an umpire being able to critique the mechanics of the guys under the uprights on a 30 yard field goal.

I was very curious about that myself. 

[prab]

Perhaps some of those field officials, who have never been inside a "booth", might benefit from some generic considerations most ECOs have little, if any, control over.

At the HS level, in general, no two booths are identical:
a. there is a variety of controllers, some older, some newer and like opinions, each is a little different.
b. some offer unobstructed glass walls, MOST have windows, that come with pillars, some a lot wider than others, that create temporary blind spots that need to be "worked around".
c. field lighting is unique to each site, some are great, most suck(at the HS level).
d. Many are high enough above the crowd, to avoid fan obstruction, many are not.  For reasons known only to God, fans on the top row ALWAYS stand, if it's raining they ALL come with umbrellas.
e. Many booths get crowded (authorized/unauthorized) people, that can cause (momentary) distractions, that ONLY happen at the worst times.
f. Every now and then, clocks, or controllers, decided to act on their own (running your own back-up clock is a sound idea).
g. Coaches in the booth ask as many stupid questions as coaches on the sideline.
h. Wing officials, under 7'2" tall, get lost from sight, intermittently on the far sideline in front of the team box and are TOTALLY INVISIBLE on most near sideline team box areas, rendering most, if not all, incomplete pass signals given below the shoulders - invisible  (SO IMPORTANT for middle field officials to relay Signal 3 and other relevant signals along both sidelines).
i. Time Out signalling, please don't be subtle, or stand on the sideline.  Make your signal a "Big Deal" while moving away from sideline or players.  Look at the clock as you signal.  (REMEMBER: neither coaches nor players can ever CALL Time Out, they can REQUEST that YOU call Time Out, so it starts when YOU signal, not when THEY request (or started thinking about requesting).
j. Just as "Football is a game of inches" is a misunderstood myth, so is precision to the 1/10th of seconds.
 

Al, this is some pretty good info.  I think that it is easy to get so involved in our own duties on the field, that we can forget that the clock guy has his own set of problems to deal with.  Anything that we can do to make his job easier can't help but make the game go smoother for us too.

[GAHSUMPIRE]

I don't have a problem with the clock expiring. My issue is an umpire being able to critique the mechanics of the guys under the uprights on a 30 yard field goal.

Umpires are Omniscient and Omnipotent. We see all, hear all, and know all. We just let the rest of you think you know more than us.  Now, back to my 

[NVFOA_Ump]

So clock operators know the rules adequately enough to start the clock when the ball becomes live at the snap, but don't know when it becomes dead by rule on a down where the clock should stop and need to wait for an on-field signal before stopping the clock?  That's not the mechanic in any game I've been in.

[bbeagle]

So clock operators know the rules adequately enough to start the clock when the ball becomes live at the snap, but don't know when it becomes dead by rule on a down where the clock should stop and need to wait for an on-field signal before stopping the clock?  That's not the mechanic in any game I've been in.

EXACTLY!

Clock operators are not told in pregame or given any signals during the game to:
a) start the clock on a snap
b) stop the clock after a touchdown or field goal good signal
c) stop the clock when a safety signal is given
d) stop the clock when an incomplete pass is signaled
e) stop the clock on a field goal no good signal
f) are confused when a roll the clock, then stop the clock signal are given for a first-down inbounds.

The clock operator needs to use common sense and understand the rules of football. For example, I've NEVER seen a wind-clock signal on a play where a kickoff is touched in the air by the receivers, then the receiver is taken out by the defense causing a loose ball. The covering official has too much on his plate following the muff if there are players everywhere. The clock operator should know to start the clock then.