IRVING, Texas — With training camps in full swing, August provides the perfect time for the National Football Foundation to highlight the key rule changes and officiating points of emphasis that will be in effect during the 2014 season.
There are four major rule changes for the 2014 college season, three of which involve dangerous hits or tackles.
First, on “targeting fouls” that involve forcible contact to the head and neck area, or hits made with the crown of the helmet, instant replay can be used to rescind the 15-yard penalty and reinstate a player ejected from the game for targeting.
In games where instant replay is used, the player is returned to the game if the video review shows conclusively that there was no forcible contact to the head and neck area or with the crown of the helmet. If there is not another personal foul in combination with the targeting foul, then the 15-yard penalty also is erased.
Also, in games where instant replay is not available, officials may undertake a halftime review of a first-half foul when video is available at the game site. If the review convinces the referee that the player should not have been ejected, he may return to the game for the second half.
However, there must be a conference policy in place, or pregame agreement between the teams in interconference games, which specifies where the review will occur and what kind of video will be used. The decision of the referee is final and may not be appealed.
Second-half targeting fouls may still be reviewed by appeal to the national coordinator of officials to determine whether the player is required to sit out the first half of his team’s next game. This rule is unchanged from 2013.
In an extension of the rule for roughing the passer, a new rule in 2014 prohibits the defense from making forcible contact at the knee or below to an opponent who is in a passing posture.
It is designed to eliminate knee injuries on plays where the defensive player forcibly drives a shoulder, helmet or forearm into the lower leg of the passer. This rule is not intended to prevent the defense from making a legitimate wrap-up tackle in which the contact is at or below the knee.
The fourth major rule change stipulates that a player’s uniform number must clearly contrast in color with the jersey itself. Beginning in 2014, the referee will ask the team to change into legal jerseys before the game begins. If the team does not change, it will be charged with a timeout.
The same opportunity will be offered during the time between the first and second quarters, at halftime and at the beginning of the fourth quarter. In each case, a timeout will be charged if a team does not comply. This means that a team could potentially burn four of its allotted six timeouts for the game because of the illegal jerseys.
Officiating points of emphasis for 2014 include sideline management and unsportsmanlike behavior or players.
The proliferation of no-huddle offenses has meant coaches are much more likely to be on the field right before the snap and then again too quickly after a play is over. Officials will enforce the six-foot white border around the sideline as a restricted area that must be clear of team personnel while the ball is alive and during the period after the play is over until the action has ceased.
With player behavior becoming an issue, spontaneous enthusiasm and positive celebration are encouraged. However, when players extend this into self-promotion and taunting of the opponent, officials will be firm about calling unsportsmanlike conduct fouls.