Running out the clock facts for kids

In sports strategy, running out the clock is a smart move in sports. It means a team that is winning tries to make the game clock run out faster. They do this by using plays that take a lot of time. This helps them keep their lead or end a game that they are winning by a lot.

This strategy usually involves low-risk plays. These plays are designed to stop the other team from getting the ball back easily. While it helps the winning team, it can make the game less exciting for fans. Because of this, many sports have rules to prevent too much time-wasting. For example, some sports use a play clock or shot clock. These clocks limit how long a team can hold the ball.

How teams run out the clock can be different in various sports. In some sports, it's a normal part of the game. In others, it might be seen as unsporting. The term "time-wasting" is often used in association football (soccer). In sports like basketball, gridiron football, and ice hockey, people usually say "running out the clock."

Running Out the Clock in Soccer

In association football (soccer), time-wasting happens in two main ways. Teams might try to make stoppages last longer. Or, they might try to keep the ball as long as possible without trying to score.

Making Stoppages Longer

One common way to waste time is by making substitutions late in the game. This takes time while players leave and enter the field. Players might also pretend to be hurt. They might kick the ball away after a whistle. They could also stop an opponent from taking a quick free kick. Or, they might just take a long time to take their own free kicks or throw ins. If the referee thinks a player is wasting too much time, they can give them a yellow card.

Sometimes, when a team plays at home, they might tell their ball boys to be slow in returning the ball to the other team. This also wastes time.

In theory, the referee should add extra time, called stoppage time, to make up for these delays. But teams still use these tricks.

Keeping the Ball

Another common trick is to take the ball to a corner of the field. The player then tries to shield the ball from defenders. This often leads to a free kick if a frustrated defender pushes the player. It can also lead to a throw-in if a defender tackles the ball out of bounds. This can be repeated to keep wasting time.

Soccer Rules Against Time-Wasting

Most people don't like time-wasting in soccer. Only the first type (making stoppages longer) goes against the rules. Referees can give yellow cards to players who delay the game. The Laws of the Game have been changed to stop time-wasting. For example, goalkeepers have stricter limits on how long they can hold the ball. The back-pass rule was added in 1992. It stopped defenders from passing the ball back to their goalkeeper over and over to waste time.

In 2019, a new rule was added for substitutions. Players now have to leave the field at the closest boundary line. They can't walk slowly all the way back to their team's bench. This helps save time.

Running Out the Clock in Australian Rules Football

In a close game of Australian rules football, the team that is ahead will often kick the ball between their defenders. They do this without trying to move the ball forward. They might also move the ball with short, safe kicks. When a player takes a mark (catches a kicked ball), they can take about eight seconds off the clock before they have to play on. They can keep wasting time if no opponents pressure them. To stop this, the other team might play man-on-man defense. This tries to force the leading team to kick to a contested area, which could lead to them losing the ball.

Late in a close game, players who have marked the ball might pretend to fix their uniforms. They might tuck in their jerseys or pull up their socks. They might also stretch a lot. They do this to "milk" the clock and hide that they are trying to waste time. Players kicking for goal now have a shot clock of 30 seconds. In general play, they only have 7 seconds before "play on" is called. According to the laws, wasting time can lead to a free kick, a 50-meter penalty, or even a report. However, umpires usually just call "play on."

There's also a tactic called "rushing a behind" in Australian rules football. A rushed behind gives the attacking team one point. But it stops them from scoring a goal, which is worth six points. So, a defending player might let the other team score one point on purpose. This was used in two big games in the 2008 AFL season to waste time. For example, in the 2008 AFL Grand Final, Hawthorn rushed 11 behinds against Geelong. This helped them win the game.

Since 2009, it's against the rules in AFL matches for a defender to deliberately concede a rushed behind if no opponent is pressuring them. If they do, the attacking team gets a free kick on the goal-line. But a defender can still let a rushed behind happen if an attacker is pressuring them.

Running Out the Clock in Baseball

Unlike many other sports, baseball does not have a game clock. However, some parts of the game do have time limits. For example, Major League Baseball (MLB) added a pitch clock in 2023. Even without a game clock, teams have used stalling tactics. In older games played before stadium lights or with early curfews, losing teams would sometimes waste time. They hoped that darkness or the curfew would come before the game was official. A baseball game is not official until five innings are completed. If the home team is winning, it's official after four and a half innings. If a game ended before it was official, it would be replayed later. This gave losing teams a reason to waste time. If a team tries to slow down the game on purpose, they can lose by forfeit. The most recent example in major league baseball was in 1954. The St. Louis Cardinals lost by forfeit for wasting time while losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Running Out the Clock in Basketball

A backboard showing the shot clock (red) and game clock (white).

In basketball games, the clock stops when the ball is not in play. It runs when the ball is in play.

Running out the clock used to be a big problem in the early days of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Once a team got the lead, they would just pass the ball back and forth. This was called "stall ball." The only way for the other team to get the ball back was to try to steal it or commit fouls.

Two famous examples of stalling happened in the 1950–51 NBA season. One game in November 1950 ended with a score of 19–18. Another game in January 1951 had six overtime periods, but only one shot was taken in each. To fix this, Danny Biasone invented the shot clock. The NBA started using it in the 1954–55 NBA season. The NBA's shot clock gives teams 24 seconds to shoot the ball. If they don't, they lose possession. This rule stopped stalling and saved professional basketball.

Today, almost all basketball leagues use shot clocks. The time limit can be different. For example, NCAA college basketball uses a 30-second shot clock. One exception is high school basketball in the United States. In 2017, only eight U.S. states used a shot clock in high school games. If there's no shot clock, teams might use stalling tactics like the four corners offense.

In modern basketball, managing the clock involves both the game clock and the shot clock. A team with a small lead near the end of the game will try to use up as much time as possible before shooting. This gives the other team very little time to score. A team that is behind might try to stop their opponent from running out the clock. They do this by intentionally committing personal fouls when playing defense. This stops the game clock. If the fouling team is in the penalty situation, the fouled team gets to shoot free throws. The fouling team hopes to get the ball back after the free throws. But this can be risky, as the fouled team might score and increase their lead. These intentional fouls are usually allowed as long as they are not too rough. New rules, like the Elam Ending, have been suggested to reduce intentional fouling at the end of games.

Running Out the Clock in American Football

In American football, each quarter is 15 minutes long. Many high school football games and the German Football League use a 12-minute clock. A team that is winning and has the ball will try to use up as much time as possible. This ends the game faster and stops the other team from getting another chance to score.

Usually, the leading team will run simple rushing plays. The clock does not stop after a running play unless the player goes out of bounds. Or, the team might use one or more quarterback kneels. A team will often accept gaining very few yards, or even losing a few yards, to drain more time from the clock. This is because time is more important than yards when a team is winning. Passing plays are usually not used to run out the clock. This is because an incomplete pass stops the game clock. Passing plays also have a higher risk of an interception.

In professional and college football, the offense has 40 seconds to start the next play after the previous one ends. A team running out the clock will let the play clock run down as much as possible before starting their next play. In the NFL, this is very important near the two-minute warning. If the team that is behind has no timeouts left, and the leading team has the ball with a first down at the two-minute warning, they can win the game without running another play that gains yards. With two minutes (120 seconds) left, the offense can take three "kneels" (one on each of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down). They use all 40 seconds of the play clock for each kneel. This lets the game clock run out before they have to play on fourth down. This is known as the "Victory Formation." The offense lines up in a tight "V" shape to avoid losing the ball.

Sometimes, a team that is behind might want the other team to score quickly. This lets them get the ball back. For example, in Super Bowl XLVI, the New England Patriots were ahead of the New York Giants 17–15 with 1:04 left. The Giants were close to the Patriots' goal line. The Patriots had only one timeout left. The Giants wanted to use up as much time as possible and then kick a short field goal to win. If this worked, the Patriots would have almost no time left. So, the Patriots let Ahmad Bradshaw score a touchdown. Bradshaw tried not to score, but his momentum carried him into the goal line. The Patriots then got the ball back with 57 seconds left, but they failed to score. The Giants won 21–17.

In another game in 2020, the Atlanta Falcons were behind the Detroit Lions 14–16 with 1:12 left. The Falcons were close to the Lions' goal line. The Falcons' quarterback, Matt Ryan, told his running back, Todd Gurley, not to score. He wanted Gurley to fall down before the goal line so they could run out the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. But Gurley accidentally scored a touchdown. This gave the Falcons the lead, but it left over a minute for the Lions to try to win. The Lions then scored a touchdown and won the game 23–22.

A team that has just scored and taken the lead with little time left will often use a squib kick on the kickoff. This is a low, bouncing kick that is hard to catch cleanly. It lands short of a touchback, forcing the other team to pick up the ball and use up time. In a 2022 playoff game, the Buffalo Bills did not kick a squib kick. This left 13 seconds on the clock, which was enough time for the Kansas City Chiefs to tie the game and win in overtime.

Running Out the Clock in Canadian Football

In Canadian football, running out the clock is harder because of different rules:

• The offense only gets three downs to move the ball 10 yards. In American football, they get four downs.
• The play clock is only 20 seconds long. In American football, it's 40 seconds.
• In the last 3 minutes of each half, the clock stops after every play.
• If the game clock runs out while the ball is dead, the quarter is extended by one final play that is not timed.

Because of these rules, a Canadian football team can only run about 40 seconds off the clock with a full set of downs. This is much less than in American football. The Canadian Football League is proud of this, and "no lead is safe" is one of their sayings.

Running Out the Clock in Ice Hockey

In ice hockey, if a team shoots the puck from their half of the ice over the other team's goal line to waste time, it's called icing. The puck is then brought back to the other end of the ice for a face-off. This rule is not in effect if a team is playing with fewer players because of a penalty. Also, a player (usually the goalkeeper) can get a two-minute penalty for delay of game if they shoot the puck over the glass and out of play. A team that is winning might pass the puck to their defensemen, who will then skate back into their own zone. During a power play, the team with fewer players will try to ice the puck to use up time until their penalty ends.

Running Out the Clock in Lacrosse

In lacrosse, once a team gets the ball in their own end, they must move it from their defensive area to the midfield line within 20 seconds. Then, they must move it into the offensive area within 10 more seconds. If they don't, they lose possession. Also, if a team has the ball and seems to be wasting time by not attacking the goal, the referee can tell them to stay within the attacking box or lose possession. The NCAA, Premier Lacrosse League, and most types of indoor lacrosse also use a shot clock, similar to basketball.

Running Out the Clock in Rugby League

In the National Rugby League (rugby league), there are rules to stop time-wasting. These include countdown clocks for forming the scrum and taking line drop-outs. Time is also stopped during the last five minutes of a match if a try has been scored, or if a conversion attempt takes longer than 80 seconds.

Running Out the Clock in Rugby Union

In rugby union, time-wasting often happens when one team purposely collapses a scrum. The penalty for this is a free kick, as it's considered a technical foul.

Running Out the Clock in Water Polo

Water polo uses a 30-second shot clock. It works much like the shot clock in college basketball.

See also

• Garbage time
• Delay of game
• Mercy rule