NCAA Proposes Big Change to Controversial Rule

If you hate the targeting rule in college football, there was some good news Thursday. 

Not the best news, but progress nonetheless. 

A big adjustment to the controversial rule is among proposed rules changes the NCAA announced. 

Targeting could be less punitive 

Before you ask, no, targeting is not going to become legal again. A player who is called for targeting will still be ejected, too, but he at least might not have to worry about any further punishment on the first offense. 

The Division I Football Rules Subcommittee has proposed altering the rule so that a player who is ejected in the second half of a game no longer be forced to sit out the first half of the following game. 

That would be tested in a one-year trial if passed. 

“This continues the evolution of our targeting rule and balances the important safety impact with an appropriate penalty structure," rules subcommittee chairman A.J. Edds said in a news release. "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."

It is important to note this change would only apply to a player’s first targeting penalty of the year. If a player is tossed for a second time (and the penalty occurs in the second half of a game), he would still have to sit the following first half. And if a player is called for targeting three times in a season, he will miss all of the following game. 

Especially since the ejection element was added in 2013, the targeting rule has been massively unpopular with fans, though it has led players to adjust by creating a “strike zone” on opponents.  

Players who are ruled to be “defenseless” cannot be hit with forcible contact to the head or neck area, forcing defensive players to choose to allow a catch or deliver a hit to the chest or lower. 

(Delivering forcible contact with the crown of the helmet anywhere on an opposing player is also against the rules.) 

Because they are human and usually going after a moving target, players will still sometimes stray into the illegal zone and be ejected because intent is not taken into account, a major sticking point for fans, players and coaches alike. 

Thoughts on this targeting call? ???? pic.twitter.com/YdEm9QIl1H

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 9, 2026

Nonetheless, the rule has had the desired effect: The Athletic reported targeting fouls decreased from .27 per game in 2020 to .14 in 2024. 

Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino, a former head of officials in the NFL who is currently director of replay for the NCAA and vice president of officiating for the United Football League, told The Athletic the penalty now feels too burdensome for players. 

“Everybody’s done a tremendous job, and now it doesn’t feel like the punishment fits the crime, where the majority of these are just football plays,” Blandino said. “We’ll see if there’s enough impetus to get rid of the carryover, but the rule has worked.”

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Other potential changes proposed 

Aside from changing the punishment for targeting, the rules committee also suggested making offensive pass interference a 10-yard penalty rather than 15 and allowing teams that make a fair catch to attempt to kick a field goal from that spot, as is allowed in the NFL. 

The defense would have to be at least 10 yards from the spot of the kick, which could be off a tee with a holder or a dropkick and would be worth three points 

Additionally, players will be required to wear leg coverings from the top of their shoes to the bottom of their pants. 

That proposal comes after several players were seen wearing pants with no knee pads and that did not even cover their knees.  

“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.” 

Players who violate the rule would have to leave the game for at least one down and come back with their legs covered. 

Teams would receive a warning for the first offense.

If a team has a second offense under this proposal, it would be given a 5-yard penalty, and any subsequent violations of the rule would result in a 15-yard penalty.

Currently players are required to wear pants that cover their knees, though that rule is not strictly enforced. 

It is something that became a topic on college football broadcasts last season, and it drew a sharp rebuke from Colorado coach Deion Sanders last summer during Big 12 Media Days. 

Sanders coming out against the short shorts is ironic and a sign of the times. 

He was well-known for being a fashion trendsetter during his days as a cornerback at Florida State and then for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. 

"Let’s do something about the uniforms,” Sanders told reporters last summer. “We’ve got guys in biker shorts. That makes me sick because I’m a football guy. I played this game at a high level, and I have so much respect for this game. 

“How can we allow guys out there in biker shorts, no knee pads, no nothing, literally pants up under their thighs, and that’s cool?" 

Here is video of Sanders' full remarks:

They must be approved by the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and Division I Championship Subdivision Oversight Committees before going live. 

The FBS committee is scheduled to meet March 19 with the FCS committee going four days later.