That's the speculation within the Pac-10 coaching circle.

The LA Daily News' Scott Wolf reports that Pac-10 coaches unanimously object to a new rule change regarding change of possession.

The coaches object that on a change of possession, the clock will now start when the official signals, not when the ball is snapped.

The rule is expected to shorten games by 10-12 minutes and coaches object that it could knock 10-12 plays out of a game. It also means that if a team takes over possession with 24 seconds left in a game, it would not need to even snap the ball.

Every Pac-10 coach opposed the rule change.

"We signed a petition and sent it off,’’ Bellotti said.

Said Carroll: "When you might throw 38 times in a game, now it be only 32. It’s a sad situation when there is such across the board disappointment by the coaches and the rule still gets changed.’’

I can understand fans' frustration with long games (they tend to last about four hours), but the byproduct of attempts to shorten games is now falling not on advertisers but on the product on the field.  This is dangerous territory for the NCAA and they may regret having made some of these changes.

Anecdotally, I was a bit perplexed at last year's Rose Bowl.  Anytime anything of significance would happen on the field, the game would shut down as the television broadcast would go to some lengthy commercial.  It completely disrupted the rhythm of the game for both teams and left many an antsy and bored fan in the stadium.

Instead of taking things out on the fans perhaps the NCAA could find some cooperation with advertisers to mitigate their excessive influence on the length of games.

That said, I enjoy long games.  It means each individual game is an experience, to be enjoyed throughout the course of the afternoon and evening.  The repeated interruptions get annoying, but college football is a long game to begin with and I have little trouble with that.  I love the rule that the clock doesn't run until officials set the ball on first down, for example.  The NCAA has smartly avoided tinkering with that part of the game, but now they're meddling in others.

To be continued... 

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Update:

The Wiz has more