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.
Modern history of American football
The CFP system is centered on six major bowl games played on or near New Year's Day, often called the "New Year's Six". Three pairs of games rotate annually as hosts of CFP semifinals. The champions of the so-called Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) all receive guaranteed berths in one of the New Year's Six games, though not necessarily in the CFP semifinals. Notre Dame, a football independent but otherwise an ACC member, has its own arrangement for access to the New Year's Six should it meet specified criteria. A selection committee similar to those used by the NCAA basketball tournaments for men and women releases a weekly ranking concurrently with the AP Poll starting with the Monday after Week 10 of the season. After the completion of the regular season, the committee selects the four teams that will compete in the CFP semifinals and the at-large entries to the New Year's Six games. One of the at-large entries is reserved for the top-ranking champion of the so-called "Group of Five" conferences (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt). The semifinal winners advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The first season of the new system was not without controversy, however, after TCU and Baylor (each with only one loss) both failed to receive the support of the College Football Playoff selection committee.