BOISE, Idaho — Western Athletic Conference football coaches were quick to dismiss an NCAA rule intended to speed up their games.

Under the rules, the game clock will start when the ball is kicked off (not when the returner fields it) and when the ball is set down at the line of scrimmage following change of possessions and out-of-bounds plays.

Jim Blackwood, the WAC's supervisor of football officials, said the rule will shorten games by 12 to 15 minutes.

He also said that it would reduce the total number of plays in a game by 12 to 20, depending on a team's style of play.

But the WAC coaches, who are here for the league's Football Media Preview, criticized the rule, saying it would cut down on scoring and make it difficult for trailing teams to complete comebacks.

"I think the rules committee went below and beyond the call of duty," New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme said.

"It'll be fewer plays," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said. "How many fewer, I don't know. It'll probably result in lower scoring and quicker games."

Hawai'i coach June Jones estimated the rule will cost the Warriors 14 points per game.

Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell knows comebacks. He was the center for Boston College when Doug Flutie threw the game-winning touchdown pass in the Thanksgiving Day classic now remembered for the "Hail Flutie" play. "Now I fear you're going to get down in the fourth quarter, and the (leading) teams are going to be able to run the ball out a lot more quickly at the end of the game than you ordinarily would," Bicknell said.

Bicknell also said the current strategy of saving the three timeouts might not be helpful. Because the clock starts following the change of possession, teams needing to make a late defensive stand would have to burn a timeout on first down.

"It's a major headache," Bicknell said. "I hate to criticize because I don't know who the hell I'm supposed to be criticizing."

Under the new rule, Tomey said, a team that is ahead with three seconds left could kick the ball out of bounds to end the game.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson said television executives are the "culprits" because they are "the ones who are saying, 'Let's shorten this game so it'll fit better (into a television time slot).' Coaches have always been reluctant to do anything that will reduce the number of plays."

Tomey, who was an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers, said similar rules quickened NFL games. "You look up, and the first half is over," Tomey said. "It's going to change the end-of-the-game strategy for everybody."

REPLAY CHALLENGE

Upon further review, the WAC's decision to adapt video replay as an officiating tool will have little impact.

The rule will allow each team one challenge per game. But the WAC coaches say the challenges will not be used because, under the new system, all plays will be reviewed. A WAC release said an off-field ruling can be changed if there is "indisputable video evidence" or the review will have a "direct, competitive effect on the game."

If a coach's challenge proves to be incorrect, his team would be charged a timeout. Bicknell said he would prefer to use his timeouts to counter the rules on quickening the game.

Besides, a coach may not use a challenge if, say, an official ruled a player was down, even if replays indicate he had fumbled.

"That's what I would want to challenge," Fresno State's Pat Hill said.

PLAYING IN A 'WAR ZONE'

While Fresno State's fans are reputedly the league's most vocal, FSU wideout Joe Fernandez said UH's fans should not be overlooked.

"When you first go there, it feels like you're on a vacation," Fernandez said. "You stay at a nice resort. You get there, and people are kicking back in the stands. People have their shirts off, getting a nice tan. You come out for pre-game warmups, and they're playing 'We Are the World' and all of this mellow music. No one is getting pumped up. They lull you to sleep. Then bam. The Warrior is on the field. People are beating on drums. Everything completely switches. It goes from being a nice quiet vacation field to a war zone. People start jumping in the stands, and the whole place starts shaking. It's definitely an eye-opening. You can't explain to someone how it can go from nice and calm to crazy."

Fernandez also is lamenting an FSU decision to move Bulldog students from the area behind the visiting team's bench.

"I don't know why we have to move them," Fernandez said. "Everywhere we go, the students are right behind the visitors."

UH PICKED FOURTH

The WAC coaches picked UH to finish fourth this season, following the lead of the media Tuesday.

In the coaches' poll, which was released yesterday, four-time defending champion Boise State was picked to win the conference, also mirroring the media's poll but by a more narrow margin.

The coaches' poll with first-place votes in parentheses:

1. Boise State (5) 61. 2. Fresno State (4) 59. 3. Nevada 48. 4. Hawai'i 43. 5. Louisiana Tech 39. 6. San Jose State 25. 7. (tie) Idaho 18, Utah State 18. 9. New Mexico State 13.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.