No Huddle

Yes, the No-Huddle Tempo Era in college football since 2023 is now a thing of yesteryear. Gone are the days of trying to huddle up to the line and trying to run as many plays as you can with the clock stopping on first down.

Why has No-Huddle abandoned College Football?

It hasn’t completely gone away from the game. It’s just that now, with the clock rules more in line with the NFL, teams would rather prioritize a slower pace and shorten the game to try to take as much time off the game clock as possible.

The only time now the clock rules go back to college rules is during the last 2 minutes of each half. Before that, the game earns a two-minute timeout similar to the two-minute warning in the NFL.

Can certain teams still use No-Huddle if they want to?

Absolutely. Unlike the unsuccessful attempt to try to ban the Tush Push in the NFL, no one in college football has tried to ban going with tempo, even under NFL-style clock rules. In fact, teams like Oklahoma State still run No-Huddle because their new head coach Eric Morris ran it back when he was with North Texas.

Now he brought over his masterful quarterback in transfer, Drew Mestemaker. Look for the Cowboys to light up the scoreboard and set new offensive records, similar to what this popular offense did back in the mid-2010s.

Why will No Huddle never completely fade away despite shifting toward more of an NFL-style gameplay?

Because, much like a majority of people in America, college football believes in a free-will society where teams can run any type of offense they want. If the No-Huddle fits your team’s talent, then keep running it. If you want to play an NFL time-of-possession game to keep other offenses off the field, that’s fine too.

As long as that part of the game is still traditional, then it doesn’t affect the real big issue in college football, which is who is really eligible under the NCAA’s recent 5-for-5 ruling. And whether pro players will truly stay out of college and not come back if they fail to make the NFL.

What’s next for the future of College Football?

While there are a lot of loyal college football fans who don’t like that they are trying to make it more like the NFL, I’m actually for making it more like the pros. I do like the fact that they went to a more pro-hybrid style of clock rules after the first down. It makes these players better prepared for when they have to use a running clock in the pros.

I also like that we have a 12-team playoff, and I’m even more excited for the 2027 season. When the season starts a week earlier, the teams will now have two byes. That could possibly mean a playoff expansion, which shows fewer teams are excluded from the chance to win a national championship.

All colleges have to do now is change their 1-foot in-bounds rule to 2 feet in bounds when receivers go to make a catch, as it should be 2 feet and consistent with the NFL game.