Another offseason in college football, another dosage of bureaucracy in college football. I'd like to know what you guys think about the latest proposed rule changes in college football for the 2010 season.

Rule Change: If a player is deemed to have taunted an opponent during the process of a scoring a touchdown, the penalty would nullify the score. Note that excessive celebration after a score is not included and would still be viewed as a dead-ball misconduct foul, assessed after the score is counted.

The rule could potentially flag actions like high-stepping into the end zone or doing a somersault over the goal line.

I can't even believe that one. I am left speechless.

"Our committee firmly believes in the team concept of college football," said Mike Bellotti, chair of the committee and athletics director at Oregon. "Taunting and prolonged individual acts have no place in our game, and our officials have generally handled these rules well. This is just another step in maintaining our game's image and reflecting the ideals of the NCAA overall."

Other items from the committee meeting ...

-- A proposal extending current policies regarding medical clearance of injured athletes to specifically cover possible concussions.

-- Agreement on rule regarding "Eye Black": If a player wishes to wear patches under his eyes, he can't write anything on them, be it area codes, phrases, symbols, names or Bible verses (Tim Tebow-style). This is to be effective in 2010.

-- Beginning in 2011, television monitors will be allowed in the press box booths used by coaches. The home team will have responsibility for insuring that coaches' booths for both teams have identical television capability.

-- Removal of rule requiring a player's pants to cover his knees at all times.

-- Discussed possibility of prohibiting an intentional wedge of three or more receiving team players on free kicks.

This one I don't understand. Why should a wedge of three or more players be prohibited? Isn't that an effective, textbook way to teach special teams players to block during a kickoff return? I suspect this has to do with the initial starting field position that teams have received since they moved kickoffs back to the 30 yard line. This one just perplexes me. Just move kickoffs back to the 35. Sheesh.

-- Agreed to discuss changes at next year's meeting to simplify rules regarding blocking below the waist.

And they want to simplify rules. Ha! That's a good one NCAA

They need to make it 2 feet must be in bounds for a catch to count, its a pretty big adjustment i think for WR's that makt it to the NFL. I wondering how long before we start seeing the star college qbs getting the Brady treatment lol

No matter what they do, football will be full of bad-mouthing and taunting. It's part of the game. It's part of rivalries. Fans love that kind of stuff anyway.

When your 10 yards ahead of the defender on your 10 yd line and gonna score, turning around and looking back and pointing the ball at the defender is not part of the game, never was.

   Thats bad sportsmanship, take the 6 off the board and you'll cure this display of bad sportsmanship, simple, not a dead ball foul, thus mark off 15 yards from the spot of the foul.  I'd add in there, if the game was a blow out and you do that cause you know 15 yards and taking the TD off the board isn't gonna hurt, if you suspended them for the next game, i'm sure that would cure that problem too.   

  The dead ball side of this, two teams battle to keep each out of the endzone, when a team scores, and breaks a tight game late in the 4th qrtr, I think they earned the right to celebrate as a team.   Which takes it back to a refs judgement, and sometimes that isn't the best either.

      

Matt Fly.... Bingo. 

I hate this taunting penalty.

Let me rephrase -- I don't hate a penalty for taunting, but I hate the proposed enforcement would be taking points away.

Sorry -- it's simply too subjective, and whether or not to allow a touchdown based on some subjective criteria is a terrible idea.

I dont have a problem with too much of it.  The one I have a problem with is the allowing of TVs in the coaches box.  Its just not necessary. 

I like the unsportsmanlike penalty and thought it should have been addresses like that for a long time.  Make it a spot foul.

I also like the eye black thing even though its minor.

There is great reasoning for the wedge rule change.  They are adopting this from the NFL who has outlawed it because it increased the number of concussions due to coverage teams using a "wedgebuster" who would throw himself into the wedge, generally headfirst.

When you have a clear shot at the end zone the rule says to score and then do your dance, etc.

If you do anything deemed to be unsportsmanlike while on the way into the end zone a penalty will be called.

Seems to me that this takes away another fun aspect of the game.

The NCAA, trying to destroy college football. 

When your 10 yards ahead of the defender on your 10 yd line and gonna score, turning around and looking back and pointing the ball at the defender is not part of the game, never was.

Perhaps it shouldn't have been part of the game, but the reality was it was part of the game. I agree that it's rude, risky, and coaches probably should scold players who do that, because the opponent will remember that stuff and it won't sit well with them. But there are teams that are coached well not to embarrass your opponent. Some teams showboat and sometimes it can be funny and exciting. That's why the game is to stop your opponent from running free into the endzone. I basically agree that it's not classy to do something like that on your way to an easy touchdown. It's kind of like running up the score. You shouldn't do it if you play the game the way it's meant to be played, but teams should be able to do anything they want on the field so long as they aren't physically harming the opposition. After all, they train and go through a lot of work to get on the field, and if they succeed in breaking through on the way to a touchdown, the way I see it is they earned their ability to celebrate.

Thats bad sportsmanship, take the 6 off the board and you'll cure this display of bad sportsmanship, simple, not a dead ball foul, thus mark off 15 yards from the spot of the foul. I'd add in there, if the game was a blow out and you do that cause you know 15 yards and taking the TD off the board isn't gonna hurt, if you suspended them for the next game, i'm sure that would cure that problem too.

I agree that it's bad sportsmanship, but to me it's not necessarily unsportsmanlike. You can be a good sportsman or a bad sportsman, or you can be unsportsmanlike. Unsportsmanlike is really hitting a player for no good reason after a play is over, or spiking a ball into an opposing player from the other team after a touchdown. That to me should be penalized. But I don't think refs should be able to take points off the board just because you somersault into the endzone or high step into the endzone. That to me is an exciting play that fans of that team can cheer. The teams that I support always run into the endzone and hand the ball to the ref. But not all teams in the past do that. Some celebrate. And I think it kind of takes away from the style that some teams have. Like the old Miami teams in the 80s would have been flagged so much for their antics. But it was fun for the fans and more importantly it made teams want to try to find ways to beat them because they had such swagger. It's not that I support embarrassing your opponent, but I think teams should be able to do it because they have to earn that touchdown and it shouldn't be taken away from them imho if they decide to celebrate or showboat.

The dead ball side of this, two teams battle to keep each out of the endzone, when a team scores, and breaks a tight game late in the 4th qrtr, I think they earned the right to celebrate as a team. Which takes it back to a refs judgement, and sometimes that isn't the best either.

Yeah exactly, like I don't want to see games decided by refs flagging a team for a borderline celebration, like what happened to Jake Locker when he throw the ball over his shoulder and got called for a 15 yard penalty after he scored, then they lost the game.

Scoring a touchdown should be an exciting play, and so long as you aren't physically attacking a player on the opposing team, I don't see why a flag is needed.

Why can't players celebrate when they score? It's so stupid if you think about it. Basically that takes all the emotion out of the game and teams will act like robots out there instead of creating exciting plays for their fans to watch.

When you have a clear shot at the end zone the rule says to score and then do your dance, etc. If you do anything deemed to be unsportsmanlike while on the way into the end zone a penalty will be called.

Yeah I don't know if there was a rule that actually says "score and then do your dance", but now you can't even do your dance with the rules that were implemented a few years ago involving excessive celebration.

Seems to me that this takes away another fun aspect of the game. The NCAA, trying to destroy college football.

Yeah exactly. I don't think college football is going to be as much fun anymore like it used to be. It's gunna feel very bland and repetitive. In years past college football was the most exciting game in America. There was nothing like watching the end of an exciting game. Now it's like you can't even celebrate, to me it just seems like the NCAA has gone bureaucracy on us really quickly over the past few years and to me it doesn't get me excited to watch games anymore like I used to. I don't get why they don't just leave the game alone and let it flourish. There are so many problems with the game now it seems counter-productive to focus on celebration penalties instead of trying to improve the actual game.

There is great reasoning for the wedge rule change. They are adopting this from the NFL who has outlawed it because it increased the number of concussions due to coverage teams using a "wedgebuster" who would throw himself into the wedge, generally headfirst.

I believe the real problem here is that they moved kickoffs back to the 30 yard line in 2007. Remember their reasoning was that the kickoff return was "the most exciting play in football". And remember coaches like Joe Tiller of Purdue didn't like the rule because it was "the most dangerous play in football". Before 2007, there weren't that many kickoff returns, there were a lot more touchbacks, and coverage teams didn't form the wedge as much because the kickoff team was downfield quicker from the 35 yard line. Now, there are almost no touchbacks anymore due to the longer kickoff distance, so the return unit have 5 more yards until they meet the opposing kickoff team, essentially more time to form the wedge.

1inStripes, thanks for informing me as to the safety concerns of kickoffs. Now I understand where that is coming from. Perhaps the wedgebuster does cause concussions. But tackling a player with the ball can also cause a concussion. Perhaps it will limit concussions to limit the amount of players that can be involved a wedge, but to me that's something that has always been part of the game and part of a kickoff return strategy.

I am of the belief that what is causing more concussions on kickoff returns than anything is the fact that kickoffs are now from the 30 yard line. From the 35, there were a lot more touchbacks, less returns, less of the most dangerous play in football.

Why can't players celebrate when they score? It's so stupid if you think about it. Basically that takes all the emotion out of the game and teams will act like robots out there instead of creating exciting plays for their fans to watch.

As a fan, does it make you more excited when your player takes the ball and holds it behind them showing it to the defense and scores, than it does when they just run into the end zone?

It doesnt me.

Your missing another point behind this though.  That, and any other showboat move is taunting which is already illegal.  I've been on a football field enough to see what happens after one player celebrates and entices a player from the other team to do something completely wrong in order to get revenge.   These "celebrations" just lead to no good. I'm fine with celebrating in the back of the end zone a little with teammates or even better on the sidelines.

My problem with the taunting call is there is no way to have exact consitancy with the call. In other words, that will be too much of a judgement call in some situations.

It will just have to be applied with common sense.  Theres plenty of judgement calls in all 3 levels of football.

retarded........... try changing the politics involved in deciding who gets to go to bowl games, and championship games. and Stop wasting time with rules about nullifying points.

If u ask me, i a team scores, and there was nothing done that was against the basic rules of the game or that hurt someone (Im talking about BASIC rules, dont go out of bounds, if ur down ur down, no fouls((excluding this new crap)) and making sure theres the right number of guys on the field) then the points stand! Taking them away is one of the dumbest things ive ever heard. especially when the point in question is that of a personal and judgmental nature. ie. the Ref has the decision based on moral grounds, not technical grounds. Its defeating the entire purpose of the game. If you cant handle the trash, get off the field. I do agree with the excessive celebration rules currently in place. Youre a college athlete, not a professional.......... humble up boys...... and grow up too.

But bottom line, what the entire NCAA Football Officials are missing is that theres a HUGE group of ticked off fans out there who dont care about things like these kind of changes, they want the BCS Format eliminated!

Thats something they need to make progress on! >

^couldn't agree more little_stephen. We need less BS and more football. Not more BS and less football.

I appreciate the responses guys. It goes to show how knowledgeable members here are when it comes to sports.

College football means a lot to me and I hate when the sport I love gets watered down. I hope one day we can see the sport go back to its roots. What would really help college football would be less commercials, less replay reviews, old clock rules and better overtime (only needed in championship games).

Another offseason in college football, another dosage of bureaucracy in college football. I'd like to know what you guys think about the latest proposed rule changes in college football for the 2010 season.

Rule Change: If a player is deemed to have taunted an opponent during the process of a scoring a touchdown, the penalty would nullify the score. Note that excessive celebration after a score is not included and would still be viewed as a dead-ball misconduct foul, assessed after the score is counted.

The rule could potentially flag actions like high-stepping into the end zone or doing a somersault over the goal line.

I can't even believe that one. I am left speechless.

"Our committee firmly believes in the team concept of college football," said Mike Bellotti, chair of the committee and athletics director at Oregon. "Taunting and prolonged individual acts have no place in our game, and our officials have generally handled these rules well. This is just another step in maintaining our game's image and reflecting the ideals of the NCAA overall."

Other items from the committee meeting ...

-- A proposal extending current policies regarding medical clearance of injured athletes to specifically cover possible concussions.

-- Agreement on rule regarding "Eye Black": If a player wishes to wear patches under his eyes, he can't write anything on them, be it area codes, phrases, symbols, names or Bible verses (Tim Tebow-style). This is to be effective in 2010.

-- Beginning in 2011, television monitors will be allowed in the press box booths used by coaches. The home team will have responsibility for insuring that coaches' booths for both teams have identical television capability.

-- Removal of rule requiring a player's pants to cover his knees at all times.

-- Discussed possibility of prohibiting an intentional wedge of three or more receiving team players on free kicks.

This one I don't understand. Why should a wedge of three or more players be prohibited? Isn't that an effective, textbook way to teach special teams players to block during a kickoff return? I suspect this has to do with the initial starting field position that teams have received since they moved kickoffs back to the 30 yard line. This one just perplexes me. Just move kickoffs back to the 35. Sheesh.

-- Agreed to discuss changes at next year's meeting to simplify rules regarding blocking below the waist.

And they want to simplify rules. Ha! That's a good one NCAA

PHEW!!