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GREENSBORO, Ga. -- If the college football timing-rules changes of 2006 represented a revolution, then this year's modifications are a peaceful assembly: enough to draw your attention without provoking ire or fear.

The ACC's supervisor of officials said Tuesday that he expects the NCAA's most recent amendments will reduce the length of games without appreciably limiting the number of plays from scrimmage. The plays that are run will likely come in faster spurts than ever.

Two years ago, radical alterations cut 15 minutes off game times but whacked about seven plays per team per game in the process.

"And the coaches hated that," said Doug Rhoads, who is entering his second season as the judge of the judges.

First, a brief review. In 2006, television executives were getting agitated about the duration of the contests, some of which were running into the start of subsequent broadcast windows.

In came a regulation that started the game clock after every change of possession but before the snap of the ball. In other words, the clock would routinely run for no apparent reason for 15 or more seconds after every possession change.

That added up to lost opportunities for the offense, and it radically altered statistics. The national average for total offense per game dipped to its lowest level since 1981, and the play count was its lowest since 1964.

They basically went back to the old ways in 2007 and all the numbers returned to normal. So now the NCAA has sought to get the best of both worlds -- shorter games in real time but the same amount of action.

The reductions -- relative to 2007 -- are expected with a provision that allows the game clock to restart sooner than before when a ball-carrier goes out of bounds. In the past, time was stopped until the snap of the next play. Now, a signal from the referee resumes the time except in the final two minutes of the game.

The play clock, the device governing the dreaded delay-of-game penalty, will increase from 25 seconds to 40, but that may actually make up for the plays lost with the out-of-bounds provision. In the past, the umpire or another official determined when the play clock started on a case-by-case basis.

"There are certain guys who are really fast and some who are relatively slow," Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford said. "There's definitely a difference."

Now in most cases, the guesswork is gone.

"Now it will be uniform if they do it correctly," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "Other than that, I don't see a big change."

As soon as one play ends, the clock goes to 40 immediately. (Of course, there are exceptions.)

"I don't think we will have a significant reduction in the number of plays," Rhoads said. "My prediction is that the game will be 10 to 12 minutes shorter, and we will still run between 70 and 76 plays per team."

The play-clock change may have some side effects. If the offense wants to operate without a huddle and start running the next play as soon as possible, it can do so, but its advantage can only be maximized if it refuses to substitute. If the offense is ready to go with the same personnel, the defense must be ready as well. If the offense changes players, the defense has a similar opportunity. The assumption is that the immediate moving of the play clock to 40 will create a faster-paced culture that may encourage the hurry-up offense.

Such an approach puts a premium on conditioning, and after a while, it might necessitate depth.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com