Ask any college football fan, player, or coach what one of the most frustrating rules in the game is and the answer will likely come back to the targeting rule. What is targeting? Who even knows, as it seems to be interpreted differently in every conference on a weekly basis. ever since its introduction to the game, in an effort to enhance the safety of the players playing the game on the field, it has been the most scrutinized and analyzed rule in the game.
It doesn’t happen often, but the NCAA deserves an ounce of credit for attempting to correct some of the biggest flaws with the rule. Allowing for a 15-yard penalty to be erased after a targeting call was overruled was a common sense decision. And, if a proposal from the Football Rules Committee is approved, more common sense changes could be on the way.
This week saw the Football Rules Committee pass a proposal that could allow for the opportunity to have a first-half suspension for a targeting violation in the previous game to be lifted. As it stands now, any player found guilty of a targeting foul is ejected from the game. But if that ejection occurs in the second half of a game, then that player is forced to sit out the first half of the following game. The intent was to place severity for violating the safety of the game with an illegal hit on an opposing player, but many have felt the punishment is overkill.
But this proposal won’t necessarily eliminate this scenario from being lifted automatically. Instead, as The Athletic reported, the proposal would allow for an appeal to be made for a carryover suspension to allow for the possibility a conference will lift the punishment. How effective this ends up being remains to be seen, but it is a clear step forward in addressing this concern with the way the rule is enforced.
The proposal, along with other potential rule changes that could be put into effect for the 2022 season, will be reviewed and voted on by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel on April 20. If approved, the targeting rule will be modified for the upcoming college football season.
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