College football Week-1 arrives with the kickoff of Thursday’s (Aug. 28) games so before you play your bets perhaps we need to go over some new rules the NCAA has implemented that could affect a game’s outcome which in turn, could affect the betting lines.

For those who like to bet totals, it should be brought to your attention that games will be shorter from now on. Rules have been implemented to keep the clock rolling more, akin to how they do things in the NFL. Overall, these new rules will suppress scoring therefore affecting the games total.

The biggest change for 2008 is the 40 second play clock. The 40-second play clock represents a major change in the timing of the game and will impact how the game looks and flows. The purpose of this change is to enhance the consistency of how soon the ball is ready for play once it has become dead. In the past, the play clock was set at 25 seconds and started on the referee’s signal on every play. Now, the play clock will be set to 40 seconds after the ball becomes dead on and started immediately. In circumstances when the officials stop the game clock for administrative and other reasons, the play clock will be set to 25 seconds and started on the referee’s signal in the familiar manner.every play 

When a ball is carried or fumbled out of bounds , the game clock will stop, as always. Beginning this season the game clock will start on the referee’s signal when the ball is ready for play, not on the snap. In the last two minutes of the half, however, the clock will start on the snap as before, preserving the ability of the offensive team to maximize strategic use of the clock.

"These rulse changes will absolutely affect the overall outcome of a games total score," said Point-Spreads.com resident handicapper Reno Gold. I have discussed this with oddsmakers in Vegas and offshore at Bodog . They do plan to adjust the total betting numbers to the new rules."

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