Roughing the snapper

[PoconoPony]

Why not just require a 2 point conversion rather than all that fancy stuff?

Good point; however, I would still allow the extra point as an option to add interest. Problem is that it is too automatic, despite an occasional miss every season for most kickers, and really adds little interest. For that reason I would allow more options to block making the kick option very risky. If risky then more teams might go for the 2 if the risk factors were somewhat the same.

2 point conversion or 1 point drop kick. Keep it simple.

OK. In addition, give points for the distance of the drop kick. For example, eliminate the current field goal and award points only for drop kicks. 2 points inside the 20 yard line, 3 points between the 20 and 40 yard lines and 4 points for more than 40 yards. This should open up offenses for more risk, add a dimension of widely varied scores thereby changing game strategy and coaching decisions.

[mrydel]

I attended a UT/SMU game once, sitting in the blue hair UT section. UT kicked off once and the ball sailed through the uprights. A 70+ year old woman started screaming hysterically that UT should get 3 points. She was livid. Finally her equal aged husband calmed her down by explaining that apparently the officials had missed the fact the ball went through the uprights. I think you are giving way too much credit to the game acumen of the average fan. Just keep the game simple for the people and the simple people will keep coming to the game. That said, spicing up the extra point in some way would be interesting.

[PK]

I attended a UT/SMU game once, sitting in the blue hair UT section. UT kicked off once and the ball sailed through the uprights. A 70+ year old woman started screaming hysterically that UT should get 3 points. She was livid. Finally her equal aged husband calmed her down by explaining that apparently the officials had missed the fact the ball went through the uprights. I think you are giving way too much credit to the game acumen of the average fan. Just keep the game simple for the people and the simple people will keep coming to the game. That said, spicing up the extra point in some way would be interesting.

I thought that was what Margus was doing.

[couch 'em]

When did the extra point become automatic? Surely sometime in history kicking was less reliable?

[PoconoPony]

When did the extra point become automatic? Surely sometime in history kicking was less reliable?

No one has intimated that the extra point is automatic; however, most college kickers will not miss more than one a season. Problem is that it simply adds little to the game and the success percentages are too high for it to add any interest to the game as currently used. The game needs more interest and creativity and changes re the extra point and rules protecting it might be a place to
examine. Mrydel makes a good point with his example of the UT kicker putting a kick off thru the uprights. Kickers have become so good and powerful that most teams now have kickers who can consistently get kick offs into the end zone despite the kick off originating from the 30 yard line. Hence, the extra point kick is a chip shot joke and adds little to the game, but for that one miss a season. Virtually all the rules protect the extra point and prohibit ways to block it. Time to change the rules, examine more ways for kicks to score points thereby creating more interest, strategy and excitement into the games.

[smusic 00]

Historical college football scoring[18] Era Touchdown Field goal Conversion Two-point conversion Safety Conversion safety Defensive conversion
1883 2 5 4 - 1 -
1883–1897 4 5 2 – 2 – –
1898–1903 5 5 1 – 2 – –
1904–1908 5 4 1 – 2 – –
1909–1911 5 3 1 – 2 – –
1912–1957 6 3 1 – 2 – –
1958–1988 6 3 1 2 2 1 –
1988–present 6 3 1 2 2 1 2
Note: For brief periods in the late 1800s, some penalties awarded one or more points for the opposing teams, and some teams in the late 1800s and early 1900s chose to negotiate their own scoring system for individual games.
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