NCAA Football Rules Survey

[IndyBison]

The NCAA rules committee is meeting next week to consider rule changes. They sent out a survey to coaches, administrators, and officials to get feedback on potential rule changes. The committee uses the results during their discussions. The suvey often gives an indication of things that will be discussed. Feel free to share your comments here.

Review of Previous Rules Changes and Emphasis:

What is your opinion about the previous rules changes / points of emphasis below?

Overtime process adjustment to conduct two-point conversion plays starting with the third overtime period.
Positive | Negative | No Opinion

Expanding the team area to the 20-yard lines.
Positive | Negative | No Opinion

Creating a process for reporting potential feigning injury situations to the National Coordinator of Officials and referring issues to athletic directors for possible action.
Positive | Negative | No Opinion

When instant replay overturns a call on the field, only resetting the game clock with two minutes remaining in the first half and five minutes in the second half.
Positive | Negative | No Opinion

New Rules Topics/Emphasis

Offense/Defense balance – Do the current rules allow for proper offense/defense balance?
Yes, the game is in proper balance | No, the rules provide the offense an advantage | No, the rules provide the defense an advantage

Number of plays – What is your view of the game currently in terms of the number of plays in each contest?
Right number of plays | Too many plays are run in today’s game | Too few plays are run in today’s game

Timing rules – Should the committee allow the game clock to run in situations when a first down is awarded, except during end of half situations (e.g., last two minutes)?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Timing rules – Should the committee allow the game clock to run when the ball is marked and signaled ready for play after an incomplete pass, except during end of half situations (e.g., last two minutes)?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Targeting - Should the committee consider a change in the penalty component of the current targeting rule?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Injury Timeout - In an effort to limit feigning injuries, the committee should consider guaranteeing both teams a brief substitution opportunity when a first down is awarded.
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Injury Timeout - In an effort to limit feigning injuries, the committee should consider a longer time period for injured players to leave the game before a return is allowed, with an option to use a timeout to allow the player to return to the game after one play.
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Uniform/equipment Enforcement – Should the current uniform and equipment rules be enforced more stringently to enhance the image of the game? Examples: Jersey covering undershirt, all pads covered, knee pads in proper place, etc.
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Blocking Below the Waist – To further improve player safety, should the committee continue to streamline blocking below the waist with a similar rule to what the NFL approved last season?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Instant Replay – With the increasing number of instant replay stoppages, should the committee consider a Coach Challenge Model, except scoring plays, turnovers, targeting, the last two minutes of each half, and overtime periods?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Continuous contact to the helmet – By rule, no player is allowed to continuously contact an opponent’s face, helmet (including the face mask) or neck with the hand(s) or arm(s) – Exception: By or against the runner. Should this exception be removed?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

[Twentysix]

Timing rules – Should the committee allow the game clock to run in situations when a first down is awarded, except during end of half situations (e.g., last two minutes)?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Support.

Timing rules – Should the committee allow the game clock to run when the ball is marked and signaled ready for play after an incomplete pass, except during end of half situations (e.g., last two minutes)?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

Support, without this the rules imbalance the value of running vs passing. (An earlier question asked about the games current balance between o and d. This is similar, but pass is very imbalanced vs running.)

Targeting - Should the committee consider a change in the penalty component of the current targeting rule?
Support | Oppose | No Opinion

I think targeting is ridiculously dangerous, even with all the bellyaching by fans. It may be beneficial to add something like a malicious targeting penalty that removes a player for a month and would need to be assessed by a reviewing committee only after the game has been finished. Incidental targeting is dangerous but should be less draconian than malicious targeting. If malicious intent is clear the penalty should be far more devastating than it currently is. Hypothetically what im proposing would leave the in game call the same. The additional penalty would only be levied after the game has ended but within a few days.

Faster games and more balanced parity between schemes makes for better football.

[IndyBison]

If the timing rules were implemented there would be fewer plays and maybe 5-10 minutes shorter. The neon reason games are long is replay and TV time outs. My D3 games don't have either and they usually last 2:35-2:50, 30 minutes shorter than D1 TV games.

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[NDSU1980]

Does the feigning injury rule do anything about Stig's players suddenly getting "cramps"?

[IndyBison]

Does the feigning injury rule do anything about Stig's players suddenly getting "cramps"?Probably not really high on the list if examples. There are plenty of examples from higher levels that are even more obvious. It's a broad issue the NCAA is trying to address.

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[Gully]

I really don't like the idea of keeping the clock running more. I love football, so ending the game earlier is not an objective I would like to see pursued. If they insist on that, I'd rather they spend less time on replay.

I'm so old I still think the clock should stop when you run out of bounds!

I do think the game favors passing too much vs. running. I don't have any specific suggestions in mind, however.

[cbline]

Get the Targeting rules cleared up. How the hit on Watson that spun him around in the UNI game was NOT targeting is beyond me.

I agree with Gully, keep the running clock to a minimum so that more plays can be run: more chances for the Rams to bully defenses into submission.

[TransAmBison]

I really don't like the idea of keeping the clock running more. I love football, so ending the game earlier is not an objective I would like to see pursued. If they insist on that, I'd rather they spend less time on replay.

I'm so old I still think the clock should stop when you run out of bounds!

I do think the game favors passing too much vs. running. I don't have any specific suggestions in mind, however.I'm with ya on the clock should stop when you run out of bounds. I feel a "back in my day" coming on...

[Kevin]

These timing rules will ruin the game and only result in more commercials.

[IndyBison]

I'm with ya on the clock should stop when you run out of bounds. I feel a "back in my day" coming on...The clock does stop when a runner goes OOB. Outside of 2 minutes in each half it restarts when the ball is ready for play. In many cases it will start even sooner than that (usually 32-35 seconds remaining on the play clock). The one question proposes doing the same thing for incomplete passes.
These timing rules will ruin the game and only result in more commercials.They will have no impact on commercials. Those are set by the media contracts. I believe it's usually 3 or 4 per quarter and the length ranges from 2 to 3 minutes. They would maybe shorten the game 5-10 minutes at most and reduce the number of plays slightly.

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[THEsocalledfan]

The clock does stop when a runner goes OOB. Outside of 2 minutes in each half it restarts when the ball is ready for play. In many cases it will start even sooner than that (usually 32-35 seconds remaining on the play clock). The one question proposes doing the same thing for incomplete passes.They will have no impact on commercials. Those are set by the media contracts. I believe it's usually 3 or 4 per quarter and the length ranges from 2 to 3 minutes. They would maybe shorten the game 5-10 minutes at most and reduce the number of plays slightly.

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TABs point is the restart when ball is spotted. That should never happen until the next snap. I really hate that rule, too as it altered a fundamental concept that the clock stops until the next snap when someone goes out of bounds.

[Hammerhead]

Why not just go to something like baseball where each team gets nine (or probably more than nine) possessions with no game clock? The play clock could still be used to prevent teams from wasting time scratching their balls like baseball players.

[TransAmBison]

TABs point is the restart when ball is spotted. That should never happen until the next snap. I really hate that rule, too as it altered a fundamental concept that the clock stops until the next snap when someone goes out of bounds.Exactly. I also don't like rules that are different depending on when it is in the game...outside or inside of two minutes.

Then it gets to the commercials...yeah, those are set by the media contracts...and when time shortens, those contracts (when they come due if more than a year at a time) can add more time in. Everybody tries to squeeze every last dollar they can out of an event...I can't believe that isn't something being thought of.

[bisonaudit]

Why not just go to something like baseball where each team gets nine (or probably more than nine) possessions with no game clock? The play clock could still be used to prevent teams from wasting time scratching their balls like baseball players.

No one would ever run the ball again.

[Kevin]

The clock does stop when a runner goes OOB. Outside of 2 minutes in each half it restarts when the ball is ready for play. In many cases it will start even sooner than that (usually 32-35 seconds remaining on the play clock). The one question proposes doing the same thing for incomplete passes.They will have no impact on commercials. Those are set by the media contracts. I believe it's usually 3 or 4 per quarter and the length ranges from 2 to 3 minutes. They would maybe shorten the game 5-10 minutes at most and reduce the number of plays slightly.

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I don’t believe u bro

[THEsocalledfan]

Exactly. I also don't like rules that are different depending on when it is in the game...outside or inside of two minutes.

Then it gets to the commercials...yeah, those are set by the media contracts...and when time shortens, those contracts (when they come due if more than a year at a time) can add more time in. Everybody tries to squeeze every last dollar they can out of an event...I can't believe that isn't something being thought of.

Exactly. These yahoos kept adding more and more commercials, then found they had a an issue with game times so instead of using common sense and keeping the football rules pure, they shortened the number of plays. I hate that so much as where does it end?

[TransAmBison]

Exactly. These yahoos kept adding more and more commercials, then found they had a an issue with game times so instead of using common sense and keeping the football rules pure, they shortened the number of plays. I hate that so much as where does it end?

How about throw commercials in during play as well...oh wait...

[IndyBison]

I don’t believe u bro

What part sunny you believe? Pretty solid facts that are hard to dispute.


Exactly. These yahoos kept adding more and more commercials, then found they had a an issue with game times so instead of using common sense and keeping the football rules pure, they shortened the number of plays. I hate that so much as where does it end?

A large part of the revenue for athletics is from the media and they need to generate revenue during those broadcasts. If you want revenue for the teams you need commercials. Moreso at the higher levels.

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[bisonaudit]

Exactly. These yahoos kept adding more and more commercials, then found they had a an issue with game times so instead of using common sense and keeping the football rules pure, they shortened the number of plays. I hate that so much as where does it end?

I think if you actually looked you’d see that the number of plays was going up steadily not down, because teams were passing much more and the clock was stopping more and scoring more so there were more possession and teams changes. Football was messing with football game times as well, not just TV commercials.

[89MTBISON]

Keep the clock running, give the teams more TO's, F the media.

[Hammerhead]

How about throw commercials in during play as well...oh wait...

For games with big production budgets, why not just have ads superimposed on the field with the technology they use for the first down line? All of that green (in most cases) real estate could be covered with logos like a NASCAR driver's suit.

[IndyBison]

For games with big production budgets, why not just have ads superimposed on the field with the technology they use for the first down line? All of that green (in most cases) real estate could be covered with logos like a NASCAR driver's suit.My guess is the value of those ads is much less so the broadcaster can't get as much from them. There may also be terms in current contracts preventing that.

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[IndyBison]

Proposed rule changes from the committee were announced last week. These aren't final but are often approved by the oversight committee. No changes to affect timing. Kicked the fake injury issue down to the conferences. The biggest change is further limiting blocks below the waist. No more cut blocks on the edge or defenders cutting lead blockers. I believe RBs will still be able to cut blitzing LBs. They will also codify the fake slide will end the down and defensive holding will be an automatic first down regardless of whether a pass crosses the neutral zone. Our favorite they are now going to require the socks be pulled up to the bottom of the pants. This may have been done to get players to pull their knee pads down. If you want to cheat your pants up a little fine...then you have to wear longer socks. I'm curious to see how that is actually worded. Many players wear leg sleeves. Will they count as socks? All officials hate to be uniform police and they just added one more thing to worry about.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/3/4/media-center-appeals-process-proposed-for-football-players-called-for-targeting-in-second-half.aspx

[56BISON73]

Proposed rule changes from the committee were announced last week. These aren't final but are often approved by the oversight committee. No changes to affect timing. Kicked the fake injury issue down to the conferences. The biggest change is further limiting blocks below the waist. No more cut blocks on the edge or defenders cutting lead blockers. I believe RBs will still be able to cut blitzing LBs. They will also codify the fake slide will end the down and defensive holding will be an automatic first down regardless of whether a pass crosses the neutral zone. Our favorite they are now going to require the socks be pulled up to the bottom of the pants. This may have been done to get players to pull their knee pads down. If you want to cheat your pants up a little fine...then you have to wear longer socks. I'm curious to see how that is actually worded. Many players wear leg sleeves. Will they count as socks? All officials hate to be uniform police and they just added one more thing to worry about.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/3/4/media-center-appeals-process-proposed-for-football-players-called-for-targeting-in-second-half.aspx

Never been able to understand why they cant just wear the uniform the way its supposed to be worn?

[THEsocalledfan]

Proposed rule changes from the committee were announced last week. These aren't final but are often approved by the oversight committee. No changes to affect timing. Kicked the fake injury issue down to the conferences. The biggest change is further limiting blocks below the waist. No more cut blocks on the edge or defenders cutting lead blockers. I believe RBs will still be able to cut blitzing LBs. They will also codify the fake slide will end the down and defensive holding will be an automatic first down regardless of whether a pass crosses the neutral zone. Our favorite they are now going to require the socks be pulled up to the bottom of the pants. This may have been done to get players to pull their knee pads down. If you want to cheat your pants up a little fine...then you have to wear longer socks. I'm curious to see how that is actually worded. Many players wear leg sleeves. Will they count as socks? All officials hate to be uniform police and they just added one more thing to worry about.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/3/4/media-center-appeals-process-proposed-for-football-players-called-for-targeting-in-second-half.aspx

Everytime I see guys who could potentially catch, carry the ball without knee pads in place, I always think how dumb that is......I know you don't want to be uniform police, but those are important pads.

[Hammerhead]

Everytime I see guys who could potentially catch, carry the ball without knee pads in place, I always think how dumb that is......I know you don't want to be uniform police, but those are important pads.

Or players with their mouth guards hanging off their facemask.

[IndyBison]

Or players with their mouth guards hanging off their facemask.Sometimes players have 2 mouth pieces. Just because you see one hanging from the face mask doesn't mean they don't have one in their mouth. I've confronted players with hanging mouthpieces and they pull the other one out of their mouth.

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[HerdBot]

Now they want to get rid of of all cut blocks beyond the tackle box. WTF? So you can tackle someones legs but you can't block someones legs? A cut block ain't the same as chop block so don't give me that bullshit

[THEsocalledfan]

Now they want to get rid of of all cut blocks beyond the tackle box. WTF? So you can tackle someones legs but you can't block someones legs? A cut block ain't the same as chop block so don't give me that bullshit

In high school, it was always illegal so really not that crazy. Only could basically cut in the tackle box behind line of scrimmage.

[IndyBison]

In high school, it was always illegal so really not that crazy. Only could basically cut in the tackle box behind line of scrimmage.

Correct. This change makes it much closer to the HS rule. The difference is in NCAA the RB who starts stationary in the tackle box can still cut block in the box. In HS the low blocks also have to be immediate. I don't see anything here that says that. The lineman could step back as if he's pass blocking and then cut a guy. We haven't seen the final wording yet, but today the linemen can cut block from the side in the tackle box. Not sure if that will still be true. The defense loses even more on this as they could cut block within 5 yards of the LOS. Now only the linemen can cut block and it has be in the tackle box. Most of the defensive low blocks were a DB cutting a pulling guard for FB/TE on a sweep.

[The_Sicatoka]

When I read that list of questions I get a vibe that someone wants to shrink the number of plays per game. What would motivate that? Concussions.

[IndyBison]

When I read that list of questions I get a vibe that someone wants to shrink the number of plays per game. What would motivate that? Concussions.Two factors I believe at play. Games are getting longer so they want to shorten the game. The length though is largely determined by replay and media timeouts neither of which is going away. Starting the clock a little sooner on incomplete passes may reduce game time by 2-3 minutes but that's insignificant.

The other reason is injury related in general. The fewer plays the fewer injuries. Concussions are just one type of injury. Fake injuries could also be a part of it. If a team runs a hurry up and the clock stops like it does today that's more plays the defense is on the field and could lead to take injuries. I'm not sure if that's valid but I had a fan try to convince me if it once. There may be some logic to it.

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[The_Sicatoka]

The other reason is injury related in general. The fewer plays the fewer injuries. Concussions are just one type of injury.


I'm 100% with you on that point.

[NDSU1980]

I got this off of AGS. Sounds like one of the proposals would do away with partial scholarships and scholarship caps. Various ways to interpret what the NCAA is proposing here, but it could mean an increase in FCS schollies. Would the HaveNots in every conference impose a scholly limit anyway? Doubt this is going anywhere but it's being talked about. And I'm not promising that I understand what they are really trying to do. OK? https://www.si.com/college/2022/04/27/ncaa-new-transformation-committee-changes

[56BISON73]

Proposed rule changes from the committee were announced last week. These aren't final but are often approved by the oversight committee. No changes to affect timing. Kicked the fake injury issue down to the conferences. The biggest change is further limiting blocks below the waist. No more cut blocks on the edge or defenders cutting lead blockers. I believe RBs will still be able to cut blitzing LBs. They will also codify the fake slide will end the down and defensive holding will be an automatic first down regardless of whether a pass crosses the neutral zone. Our favorite they are now going to require the socks be pulled up to the bottom of the pants. This may have been done to get players to pull their knee pads down. If you want to cheat your pants up a little fine...then you have to wear longer socks. I'm curious to see how that is actually worded. Many players wear leg sleeves. Will they count as socks? All officials hate to be uniform police and they just added one more thing to worry about.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/3/4/media-center-appeals-process-proposed-for-football-players-called-for-targeting-in-second-half.aspx

Start penalizing them for pants too short. After awhile they will comply when its start effecting the games outcome.

[Hammersmith]

I got this off of AGS. Sounds like one of the proposals would do away with partial scholarships and scholarship caps. Various ways to interpret what the NCAA is proposing here, but it could mean an increase in FCS schollies. Would the HaveNots in every conference impose a scholly limit anyway? Doubt this is going anywhere but it's being talked about. And I'm not promising that I understand what they are really trying to do. OK? https://www.si.com/college/2022/04/27/ncaa-new-transformation-committee-changes

Man, I really wish NDSU could know what is being discussed in this committee. I mean, our leadership is obviously so clueless and will be totally unprepared for any changes coming down the pipe.

[CAS4127]

Many rule changes are meant to diminish competitive advantage away from teams who are actually well-coached/have better athletes. But that’s ok, cuz everyone deserves a chance and a ribbon of some sort.

[NDSU1980]

Many rule changes are meant to diminish competitive advantage away from teams who are actually well-coached/have better athletes. But that’s ok, cuz everyone deserves a chance and a ribbon of some sort.

I would agree with you on most rule changes, but it does seem like allowing us more full schollies instead of partials would work in our favor. We could pretend to be FBS without actually being FBS. Of course, if our competition doesn't man up and follow us we just have even bigger blowouts.

My biggest fear really is the conferences will vote to restrict schollies and we'll be back to where are started, assuming NCAA approves this.

[56BISON73]

Many rule changes are meant to diminish competitive advantage away from teams who are actually well-coached/have better athletes. But that’s ok, cuz everyone deserves a chance and a ribbon of some sort.

Interesting scenario.

The NCAA went to court some years back and spent millions of dollars on a case they knew they couldnt win. From that point forward bricks keep falling from the wall.
Was this pure dumb fuckery by the two AA? Or considering the two A is run by the schools the high hats sacrificed the two A to get what they wanted? It took years but thats what the long con is all about.

[NovaBison]

I would agree with you on most rule changes, but it does seem like allowing us more full schollies instead of partials would work in our favor. We could pretend to be FBS without actually being FBS. Of course, if our competition doesn't man up and follow us we just have even bigger blowouts.

My biggest fear really is the conferences will vote to restrict schollies and we'll be back to where are started, assuming NCAA approves this.

Read that article yesterday, and was wondering the same thing... what would stop NDSU from going to 85 scholarships... then adding the additional coaching staff to equate to FBS -- get in front of it like they did with Full Cost of Attendance (FCOA) -- then the MVFC would have no choice but to allow it... then you are truly "FBS Ready" -- would also force the competition to do the same thing.

Could be interesting to see how this plays out

[Herd]

Get the Targeting rules cleared up. How the hit on Watson that spun him around in the UNI game was NOT targeting is beyond me.

I agree with Gully, keep the running clock to a minimum so that more plays can be run: more chances for the Rams to bully defenses into submission.

The targeting “rule” in college is good imo, and superior to what the NFL does. In college there is significant ramifications for targeting, where in the nfl where the penalty is a few yards and few $.

Again the rule isn’t the issue, but the issue is how the rule is implemented. You see variability by conference, by ref Crew, by game imprtance, etc.

[taper]

Man, I really wish NDSU could know what is being discussed in this committee. I mean, our leadership is obviously so clueless and will be totally unprepared for any changes coming down the pipe.

That's going to go way over the heads of the people that need to hear it the most.

[RonMexico]

Never been able to understand why they cant just wear the uniform the way its supposed to be worn?

Because the don't want to be UNIFORM..they want to be DIFFERENT.