Running out the clock
In American football, each quarter of a game is measured with a 15-minute game clock, or 12-minute clock in many high school football codes and the German Football League. A team in possession of the lead and the ball will attempt to use up as much of the game clock as possible in order to bring the game to an end more quickly, thus denying the opposition another chance on offense.
1923 Niagara vs. Colgate football game
Coach Dwyer of Niagara wanted to play four quarters of eight minutes in length rather than the standard 15-minute quarters, an agreement reached between the schools at an earlier date. Opposing coach Dick Harlow wanted nothing to do with the rule change and insisted on the standard 15 minutes. In protest, the players of Niagara refused to tackle their opponents. Coach Dwyer of Niagara told his team "I will dismiss from the squad any man who makes a tackle. I refuse to ruin you as a football team by playing 60 minutes against a team like that, even if they score 1,000 points." Colgate scored three touchdowns in the first two minutes before Harlow agreed to the 8 minute quarters and resumed the game.