You think you’ve seen every twist and turn college football can throw at you? Guess again. This past Saturday, a game actually ended up being shorter than regulation, and it wasn’t due to some weather delay or technical glitch. Arizona State and Morgan State agreed to cut the fourth quarter down to a shocking 10 minutes. Yeah, you read that right. Five minutes just vanished from the game clock.
Blowout So Bad They Pulled the Plug
This wasn’t a tight defensive battle. This was a full-blown demolition derby right from kickoff. You had an established program in Arizona State absolutely clobbering an FCS “slappie” like Morgan State. By the time the third quarter buzzer sounded, the scoreboard was screaming 70-7 in favor of the Sun Devils. We’re talking 28 points dropped in the first quarter, another 21 in the second, and a final 21-point surge in the third. It was a relentless, no-mercy offensive showcase that just kept piling it on.
Even the Coach Was Shocked
After three quarters of that kind of beatdown, the only thing left to do was figure out how to mercifully end it. And that’s exactly what happened. Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham was absolutely floored by the whole thing. He told reporters, “I’ve never been a part of a game like that.” Can you believe it? The coach himself didn’t even know this was an option! He literally learned something new that day about the rulebook. When the opposing coach asked to shorten the quarter, Dillingham’s response was simple: “Whatever he wants, we’ll do.” That’s how much of a blowout it was. They just wanted it over.
The Shortened Finale and Its Real Impact
So what did those final 10 minutes actually look like? Well, for one, neither team managed to put any more points on the board. The shortened quarter consisted of a grand total of just 19 plays. That’s it. It’s an incredibly strange and frankly unprecedented outcome to witness. But beyond the oddity of it all, there’s a serious ripple effect that no one saw coming, especially for anyone with a stake in the game. Imagine betting on an over/under or a fourth-quarter prop, only for the game to unexpectedly shrink from 60 minutes to a mere 55. This kind of move doesn’t just mess with the final score; it opens the door to a whole new universe where potential wagers could be completely undermined. Talk about an unexpected curveball for the prediction markets!
This whole situation is a head-scratcher. It makes you wonder what other obscure rules are out there that coaches can pull out of their hats in a blowout. For now, it’s a wild footnote in college football history, but one that could have serious implications for how we look at game length and, more importantly, how we bet on them. Get ready, because the rulebook just got a whole lot more interesting.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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