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NCAA Tweaks Rules for Targeting, Fake Injuries Ahead of 2022 CFB Season

Scott Polacek

The NCAA is instituting a number of rule changes for the upcoming college football season, including some that deal with targeting, the faking of injuries to stop the clock and slow no-huddle offenses.

The Associated Press shared the changes:

Perhaps the most notable change is the targeting one, as few things in college football draw more scrutiny and ire from fans, coaches and even broadcasters than the flag that leads to a 15-yard penalty and the automatic ejection of the infringing player.

There may not be a single penalty that can more drastically alter the outcome of a game, as all it takes is one star player to be ejected for it in the early going to leave a team fighting an uphill battle.

While this rule change won't impact the current game when there is a targeting penalty, the ability of conference offices to request reviews from the national coordinator of officials that could lead to the removal of the suspension in the first half of the next contest would limit the punitive aspect of it to just one game instead of multiple contests.

In the past, players who were ejected for targeting in the second half were forced to sit out the first half of the upcoming game.

There will still be plenty of scrutiny as officials and the NCAA at large attempt to balance efforts to minimize head injuries with the reality that not all targeting penalties are created equal.

Perhaps there may one day be something similar to a yellow- and red-card system in soccer where less egregious targeting penalties receive a warning instead of an automatic ejection and the more severe ones lead to immediate disqualification, but for now the changes are limited to the ability to review second-half calls, with an eye on the upcoming contest.

The 2022 college football season begins Aug. 27.

   

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