Category Archives: Refs

Need-to-Know Rule Changes for 2017 College Football Season

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For Immediate Release: August 23, 2017

Need-to-Know Rule Changes for 2017 College Football Season
CFO and NFF team up to highlight the changes designed
to protect players and increase safety

The NFF has partnered with College Football Officiating national coordinator Rogers Redding to highlight the key rule changes that will take effect during the 2017 college football season.

For a copy of this release in PDF format, click HERE, or view it at FootballFoundation.org.

IRVING, Texas (Aug. 23, 2017) – As the season draws near, the month of August provides the perfect time for the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame to highlight the key rule changes that will take effect during the 2017 college football season.

Since 2011, the NFF has partnered with Rogers Redding, the national coordinator of College Football Officiating (CFO), to help generate awareness for the rule changes in college football through a series of regular columns distributed by the NFF. The CFO functions as the national professional organization for all football officials who work games at the collegiate level, and the organization held its annual winter meeting of conference coordinators for football officials in late January for the fifth consecutive year at the NFF headquarters in Irving, Texas.

Having officiated football for more than three decades, Redding started his career working high school football in Texas. He later officiated in the Southwest Conference from 1988-93, served as a referee in the Southeastern Conference for nearly a decade and worked three national championship games. He received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech and later obtained a masters and PhD in physical chemistry from Vanderbilt. Redding was honored with the NFF’s Outstanding Football Official Award in 2010.

The NCAA football rules committee recommended a very small number of changes for the 2017 season, and these were approved earlier this year by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP).  Because 2017 is the “off year” for changes, the committee was limited to making rules that directly impact the safety of the players. Here are the 2017 major rule changes as summarized by Rogers Redding:

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POP Pass (or RPO Pass)

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by Travis Normand

This season should feature plenty of “POP” Passes.  Not sure what a POP Pass is?  No problem, as the two articles that I have posted below explain it perfectly.  These articles are mandatory reading before the 2015 season starts as I am sure this will be a recurring discussion topic.  In fact, with so much focus on the rules surrounding a proper POP pass, I fully expect to see more flags for the “ineligible man downfield” penalty.

Here are the articles discussing the POP or RPO Pass:

  1. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/7/31/9077143/pop-pass-ncaa-football-rules-2015
  2. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/8/20/6044003/read-option-pass-play-football-xs-os-diagrams

 

Need-to-Know Rules Changes for 2014 Season

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Press Release: National Football Foundation – see release HERE at FootballFoundation.org

CFO and NFF team up to highlight the changes designed to protect players and increase safety.

IRVING, Texas (Aug. 6, 2014) – Since 2011, The National Football Foundation (NFF) has partnered with Rogers Redding, the national coordinator of College Football Officiating (CFO), to help generate awareness for the rule changes in college football through a series of regular columns distributed by the NFF. With training camps in full swing, the month of August provides the perfect time for the NFF to highlight the key rule changes and officiating points of emphasis that will be in effect during the 2014 season.

The Four Major Rule Changes for the 2014 Season

1.  Targeting Fouls: Instant Replay Can Remove the 15-Yard Penalty

Part of the penalty for targeting fouls is that the player is ejected from the game. 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 this happens in 2014, and there is not another personal foul in combination with the targeting foul, then the 15-yard penalty is also erased. Examples of combination personal fouls include roughing the passer and kick or catch interference. In cases where such fouls are accompanied by a targeting call, the 15-yard penalty will still be enforced, even if the player’s ejection is overturned.

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8 Need-to-Know Rules Changes for 2013 Season [Press Release]

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To see the original press release from the NFF, click HERE

NFF and CFO team up to highlight the changes designed to protect players and increase safety.

IRVING, Texas (August 7, 2013) – Since 2011, The National Football Foundation (NFF) has partnered with Rogers Redding, the national coordinator of College Football Officiating (CFO), to help generate awareness for the rule changes in college football through a series of regular columns distributed by the NFF. With training camps in full swing, the month of August provides the perfect time for the NFF to highlight the key changes featured in Redding’s columns during the past several months that will be in effect during the 2013 season. “We want to protect the game and to help reduce critical injuries with this message: play the game hard but stay away from serious fouls,” said Redding, who claimed the NFF Outstanding Football Official Award in 2010 after a three decade career in the Southwest Conference and the Southeastern Conference. “By making changes, we are signaling that the safety of the student-athlete stands at the very top of our list of priorities. The clear intent is to change player behavior.” The CFO functions as the national professional organization for all football officials who work games at the collegiate level, and the organization held its annual winter meeting of conference coordinators for football officials in late January at the NFF headquarters in Las Colinas, Texas. The NCAA Football Rules Committee subsequently adopted the CFO’s recommendations to create a safer environment for football student-athletes.

The 8 Major Rule Changes for the 2013 Season
(click on each headline for further details)

(1) Targeting Fouls: Automatic Ejection, Part I:

Players will automatically be disqualified from the game for targeting fouls, including (Rule 9-1-3) targeting and initiating contact with the crown of the helmet, and (Rule 9-1-4) targeting and initiating contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, elbow or shoulder.  The foul itself has not changed.  These plays have been illegal for a number of years, but the penalty has been stiffened to include automatic ejection plus the 15-yard penalty.

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Big 12 Referee Gives Longhorns Another Touchdown

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by Travis Normand

It appears as if the Big 12 referees were once again determined to help the Longhorns win their football game as UT is spotted a second touchdown in as many weeks/games.

If you remember last week, I created a post titled “Big 12 Referee Gives Longhorns Winning Touchdown.”  Now, a week later, it appears as if lightning has struck twice!

The Longhorns (and refs) were not able to win their game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on 6 October 2012.  However, the refs held up their end of the bargain and spotted the Longhorns another touchdown despite neither the ball, nor the player, crossing the goal line.

[The “touchdown” occurs at the :25 second mark in the above video, and is followed by a slow-motion replay.  You can see that neither Jackson Jeffcoat, nor the football, cross the goal line.]

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Big 12 Officials are Terrible

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Jordan Webb - Buff Bio

by Travis Normand

Jordan Webb, Colorado’s starting quarterback, has a pretty interesting bio page over at CUBuffs.com (Colorado’s official athletics website).  However, it doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.

Webb played quarterback at Kansas in 2010 and ’11 before transferring to Colorado.  It is for this reason that most college football fans are relatively familiar with what he has done before now.

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