Clock status after declined penalty

[ncwingman]

Prefacing that I'm not familiar with NCAA rules, I was checking the rule book, but not coming across the specific scenario I saw in a game.

Situation: 1:31 left in the half, A is leading. 1st and 10 play, A is flagged for holding on a running play, with A tackled in bounds. Result of the play is a 3 yard loss, so B declines the foul opting for 2nd and 13. After some confusion, B calls a timeout, but then the timeout is given back after it is announced that they have elected to have the clock start on the snap.

Rule 3-4-3 states "If the game clock is stopped to complete a penalty for a foul by the team ahead in the score (or either team if the score is tied) inside the last two minutes of a half, it will start on the snap, at the option of the offended team."

Coming from Fed, it is explicit in those rules that the penalty must be accepted for the offended team to have such an option, and I'm having problems finding a proper definition of "complete a penalty". Any approved rulings only seem to involve accepted penalties, but don't explicitly discount other situations, unless I'm just missing it.

Am I correct that B has to accept the penalty (as in Fed rules), or am I just not finding the specific rule/ruling?

[Legacy Zebra]

The team does not have to accept the penalty for the clock to be on the snap. That is for a 10 second runoff. A penalty is completed when it is accepted, declined, or canceled by rule. So declining a penalty falls under the umbrella of completing the penalty.

[ncwingman]

A penalty is completed when it is accepted, declined, or canceled by rule. So declining a penalty falls under the umbrella of completing the penalty.

That's the part I wasn't finding. It's not something that's defined in Fed rules, and I wasn't finding it in the definitions section because it's in Rule 10 instead.