Since its inception, targeting has been the only penalty where enforcement is entirely dependent upon when the foul occurred. Commit a targeting penalty on the final play of the first half, you miss the rest of the game. Commit the exact same foul on the first play of the second half, you miss, essentially, a full game -- the remainder of that contest, plus the first half of the next one.
Critics have argued for a soccer-style yellow card/red card adjustment to the rule, which referees and the NCAA have resisted, since it would require them to judge a player's intent.
Instead, on Thursday the Division I Football Rules Subcommittee proposed a tiered system:
-- first-time targeting foul: player misses the remainder of the game, with no carry over to the next game
-- second-time offender: player misses the remainder of the game, plus the first half of the next one
-- third-time offender: player misses the remainder of the game, plus the entire next one
"This continues the evolution of our targeting rule and balances the important safety impact with an appropriate penalty structure," said A.J. Edds, rules subcommittee chair and vice president of football administration for the Big Ten Conference. "We will closely monitor this one-year adjustment, and the committee believes it is important to enhance the progressive penalty to ensure proper coaching and player education."
The proposal has been offered as a one-year trial, and conferences would have the opportunity to appeal first and second offenses through the NCAA national coordinator of football officials. The FBS Oversight Committee meets again to vote on March 19, and the FCS committee meets March 23.
Other proposed changes:
-- The Committee proposed a drastic change to the football uniform, in response to the recent trend of players' knee pads barely covering their thighs -- seen most recently on Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell. Rather than mandate that the pant touch the knee, the committee has (wrongly, I might add) proposed that the sock extend all the way up to the pant. Essentially, all Division I players would now have to wear hose underneath their pants. From the NCAA: "The rules subcommittee proposed that players wear leg coverings from the top of their shoes to the bottom of their pants. Players would have to wear the same covering style and colors for that particular game."
A first-time violator would be sent out of the game, a second-time offender would occur a 5-yard penalty, and all subsequent flags would go for 15 yards.
"The current look of the uniform is clearly not meeting the expectations of the college football community," Edds said. "This will take a collective effort by administrators, coaches and officials to communicate expectations to players and equipment managers. This proposal, we believe, is definitive and gives us a chance for consistent enforcement across Division I football."
-- Changing the fair-catch kick rule to align with high school football and the NFL. "Under a new proposal, a team could choose to attempt a fair catch kick after a completed or awarded fair catch. The kick would be a field goal place kick with a holder (no tee) or a drop kick from the spot where the returner caught the ball. If the ensuing kick goes through the uprights, it would add 3 points to that team's total. The defense would be at least 10 yards from the spot of the kick."
-- Clarifying ineligible players on punt formations. "On punts where jersey number exceptions (players who do not wear numbers 50-79) are used, the snapper and two adjacent linemen on either side who are lined up in (or touching) the tackle box are ineligible receivers by position and become exceptions to the numbering rule when the snapper takes his position. This makes it clear which players are eligible and ineligible receivers in the formation."
-- Clarifying unsportsmanlike conduct to where officials are instructed to focus on "where someone taunts an opponent; actions that interfere with game administration; and celebrations found demeaning to the game or opponent."
-- Reducing the penalty for offensive pass interference from 15 yards to 10.