NCAA committee proposes charged timeout if player goes down with apparent injury after ball spotted
NCAA committee proposes charged timeout if player goes down with apparent injury after ball spotted
The NCAA Football Rules Committee announced Friday it would propose that a team be charged with a timeout if one of its players falls to the ground on the field because of an apparent injury after the ball is spotted for the next play.
Feigning injuries, sometimes at the coach’s instruction, has become a tactic defenses use to slow down tempo offenses or as a way for an offense to avoid a delay-of-game penalty or get an extra timeout.
The committee’s proposal stops short of one submitted by the American Football Coaches Association that would have required a player who goes down and receives medical attention to sit out the rest of that possession. Currently, the player must go out for one play before re-entering.
Under the committee’s proposal, if the injured player’s team does not have any timeouts remaining, a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty would be assessed.
All proposed rule changes must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss football rules April 16.
Faking injuries has received attention from the rules committee in recent years. Since 2021, a school or conference is allowed to request a postgame video review headed by national coordinator of officials Steve Shaw regarding questionable actions involving injuries. If it’s determined a player faked an injury to manipulate the rules, the offending team’s conference is notified for possible disciplinary action.
Shaw said the committee didn’t want to require players to sit out the remainder of a possession because if the player is truly injured, it is best for him to get evaluated on the field rather than try to play through injury.
“As we look at the video on these plays, they’re typically not happening at the end of the play. There’s some time lag. Many of these injuries were presenting after the ball was spotted,” Shaw said. “If we could eliminate all of those, we think that would clean it up.”
Overtime timeouts
The committee proposed that if a game reaches a third overtime, each team will have one timeout the rest of the game. Currently, teams are allotted one timeout for each overtime period.
The rationale is that at the start of the third overtime, with teams alternating running 2-point plays, the game shouldn’t be stopped for timeouts when there are only two plays per extra period.
Replay decision terminology
The committee recommended that when the decision on instant replay is announced, the referees say only that the call on the field is “upheld” or “overturned.” The terms “confirmed” and “stands” would not be used. Shaw said the committee believed too much time was spent during reviews trying to decide whether a call should be “confirmed” or “stands.”
12 men on field
The committee recommended that after the two-minute timeout in either half, if the defense commits a foul with 12 or more players on the field and they participate in the play, the officials would administer a 5-yard penalty. The offensive team would have the option to reset the game clock back to the time at the start of the play. If the 12th player is attempting to leave the field and has no influence on the play, the defensive team would be penalized 5 yards with no adjustment to the game clock.
The proposal formalizes the committee’s in-season guidance in October after Oregon coach Dan Lanning acknowledged his team induced an illegal substitution penalty late in the 32-31 regular-season win over Ohio State.
Just before Ohio State snapped ball, an Oregon defensive back walked onto the field, giving the Ducks an extra defender. Ohio State failed to complete a pass against Oregon’s 12-man defense on the next play, and the Ducks were flagged for an illegal substitution penalty. Ohio State gained 5 yards on the penalty but lost four seconds off the clock since the penalty was deemed a live-ball foul.
Other proposals
— If any player on a kick return team makes a “T” signal during the kick, the play would be whistled dead.
— To address “disconcerting signals,” no player could call defensive signals that simulate the sound or cadence of the offensive signals. The defensive terms “move” and “stem” would be reserved for players on that side of the ball and could not be used by the offense.
— Coach-to-player communication will be allowed in the Football Championship Subdivision.
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By ERIC OLSON
AP College Football Writer
