Supposing the Bears have a narrow lead, and have the ball, as the final seconds of the game tick off. Now further suppose that on a 3rd down play, they get the ball within a few inches of a first down. The officials want to stop the clock to measure. The Bears don’t want the clock stopped and they would rather just take fourth down and run another play so they can run down the clock and end the game.
Can an NFL or NCAA football team refuse a measurement in the situation I just described?
Wouldn’t the clock just re-start after the measurement anyway? As long as there is less time on the game clock than on the play clock, I think you could still run out the clock with no problem.
The clock does restart. I think it is a little bit problematic, though,in the case of the team that’s ahead by less than one score and on defense, since it gives the offense time to get organized.
If the officials want to measure, they’re going to measure. However, in the situation you described, they probably wouldn’t bother since gaining a first down in that situation isn’t important.
If you were trailing, you could ask for a measurement to see how much yardage you need to gain.