If you could change just ONE in-game rule from CFB...

[chipdouglas]

...what would it be? Not talking about roster or coaching/transfer/recruiting changes.

Discussed in a game thread this season, but mine would be the notion that a defender (DB) must turn around to "play" the ball. I acknowledge there have been legitimate applications of this rule, but one thing I've seen a lot this year is a CB called for a back-breaking PI because the QB underthrew the ball, it hit the CB in the back, and now the offense is rewarded with +15 yards and a 1st down for a ball thrown so badly it should have been intercepted. IMO there isn't even a "spirit of the law" rationale for that scenario.

Lots of other good possibilities around targeting, # timeouts and clock stoppages, substitutions, etc.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Bring back the blindside block. Lay those ****erz out.

 

[KRUSTYtheCOUG]

...what would it be? Not talking about roster or coaching/transfer/recruiting changes.

Discussed in a game thread this season, but mine would be the notion that a defender (DB) must turn around to "play" the ball. I acknowledge there have been legitimate applications of this rule, but one thing I've seen a lot this year is a CB called for a back-breaking PI because the QB underthrew the ball, it hit the CB in the back, and now the offense is rewarded with +15 yards and a 1st down for a ball thrown so badly it should have been intercepted. IMO there isn't even a "spirit of the law" rationale for that scenario.

Lots of other good possibilities around targeting, # timeouts and clock stoppages, substitutions, etc.

The whole DPI is just too punitive and arbitrary. I say whoever initiates contact on the route, no longer gets the benefit of the call. You see many times it's the receiver who first makes contact beyond the five yards and then the defender responds and gets flagged. I would change that to allowing a hand fight - short of holding or tackling.

Both college and pro should go with that. Also as a bonus rule change: during a reception or a pick, if the ball touches the ground at any point, it's ruled incomplete. That is very black and white and easy to review on video. No more of this "sure it touched the ground but he had control of it" garbage. That's all I have to say about that.

 

[NMBRCRNCHR]

Targeting for sure, get rid of it. The lack of consistency in how it is called, especially in this conference is mind-boggling and has changed outcomes of games.

 

[95coug]

I'm going to solve the entire targeting issue. Helmets are prohibited. Nobody will lead with theirs again.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I think that every penalty (even missed ones) should be reviewable. Watching one of the games the other day and there was a clear facemask pull as the runner was being tackled. Referees were so busy throwing flags for other penalties they missed what should have been an offsetting penalty. The football gods prevailed and the offense moved the ball down the field on a big play, but it was stupid that there was no way to fix a missed call. And I don't buy into the argument that bad calls are part of the game. Football gods have always had a grudge against the Cougs. Maybe each coach gets two challenges per game to keep it from getting out of hand though.

I completely disagree with the two comments above about eliminating targeting and blindside blocks. A 23 year old kid almost died the other night playing the game. We don't need to make the game more exciting for fans at the risk of player safety.

I do agree that targeting needs to be addressed though. A tackler should not be called for targeting if the offensive player lowers themselves into the contact zone. And in cases like the other night where a player was unable to get up immediately (and ended up not playing again).....you definitely hit the defender with a targeting penalty. When it comes to the targeting discussion, they need to implement a rule that wrapping up is required for every tackle. Idiots trying to lay out huge hits are the biggest driver for targeting type penalties and injured players. If you can't play fundamental football, don't play the game. If you weren't good enough to keep a player from getting his hands on the ball, attempting to injure him to keep from finishing the play kind of sucks.

For the comment about eliminating helmets.....you ain't wrong. Idiots in helmets feel invincible. Can't really get rid of them, but I wish there was a way to figure that out.

 

[425cougfan]

I can't limit it to one. Briefly:

- If the offense fumbles a ball and it goes out of bounds after going in the end zone, without being recovered, the offense keeps the ball at the spot of the fumble or the two yard line, whichever is furthest away from the end zone.

- Modify the targeting rule. Seems like everyone agrees on what needs to be done to that rule, which is extensive, and we all know what targeting should be, yet it continues to be a joke. You get WSU players hitting a guy in the chest, with the defender's head up, yet the crown of the helmet grazes the bottom of the face mask due to momentum, and that's called targeting. It's stupid.

- Eliminate requirement about turning the head to "play the ball" as Chip and Krusty described. It's way too easy to get DPI called. Change the DPI rule, though, to make it a spot foul like the NFL. That eliminates the tactic of guys getting beat and just manhandling the WR since it will only cost them 15 yards instead of 6 points.

 

[95coug]

For the comment about eliminating helmets.....you ain't wrong. Idiots in helmets feel invincible. Can't really get rid of them, but I wish there was a way to figure that out.

Catchers masks and ear flaps? Protect the eyes and ears, but deter using the heads.

 

[95coug]

I can't limit it to one. Briefly:

- If the offense fumbles a ball and it goes out of bounds after going in the end zone, without being recovered, the offense keeps the ball at the spot of the fumble or the two yard line, whichever is furthest away from the end zone.

- Modify the targeting rule. Seems like everyone agrees on what needs to be done to that rule, which is extensive, and we all know what targeting should be, yet it continues to be a joke. You get WSU players hitting a guy in the chest, with the defender's head up, yet the crown of the helmet grazes the bottom of the face mask due to momentum, and that's called targeting. It's stupid.

- Eliminate requirement about turning the head to "play the ball" as Chip and Krusty described. It's way too easy to get DPI called. Change the DPI rule, though, to make it a spot foul like the NFL. That eliminates the tactic of guys getting beat and just manhandling the WR since it will only cost them 15 yards instead of 6 points.

YES! PI as a spot foul. I like that one.

I'd change your first idea too. If the offense fumbles through the endzone, the defense gets 2 points and the ball goes back to the 10.

Another change to penalty enforcement:

• Penalties on kick returns and dead ball fouls have yardage added after the ball is spotted. No more 10 yard penalty then 1st & 10. It's 1st & 20. Same idea for dead ball personal fouls on the offense - it's 1st & 25.

 

[chipdouglas]

I think that every penalty (even missed ones) should be reviewable. Watching one of the games the other day and there was a clear facemask pull as the runner was being tackled. Referees were so busy throwing flags for other penalties they missed what should have been an offsetting penalty. The football gods prevailed and the offense moved the ball down the field on a big play, but it was stupid that there was no way to fix a missed call. And I don't buy into the argument that bad calls are part of the game. Football gods have always had a grudge against the Cougs. Maybe each coach gets two challenges per game to keep it from getting out of hand though.

I completely disagree with the two comments above about eliminating targeting and blindside blocks. A 23 year old kid almost died the other night playing the game. We don't need to make the game more exciting for fans at the risk of player safety.

I do agree that targeting needs to be addressed though. A tackler should not be called for targeting if the offensive player lowers themselves into the contact zone. And in cases like the other night where a player was unable to get up immediately (and ended up not playing again).....you definitely hit the defender with a targeting penalty. When it comes to the targeting discussion, they need to implement a rule that wrapping up is required for every tackle. Idiots trying to lay out huge hits are the biggest driver for targeting type penalties and injured players. If you can't play fundamental football, don't play the game. If you weren't good enough to keep a player from getting his hands on the ball, attempting to injure him to keep from finishing the play kind of sucks.

For the comment about eliminating helmets.....you ain't wrong. Idiots in helmets feel invincible. Can't really get rid of them, but I wish there was a way to figure that out.

There was a play in the Ohio State-Georgia game where Bullard (defender) smashed Harrison in the EZ in order to prevent the catch. Harrison may have gotten concussed, but it appears to be secondary as his head hit the turf after contact. On replay the targeting call was overturned and Ohio State settled for a FG. If it stood, Georgia probably loses the game.

Even in real time I hated the call. It was overturned, but feels like one that is NOT overturned 9 times out of 10. Trying to hit a receiver solidly enough to prevent catch-and-hold-on is part of football, and as in the case of most "led with the helmet" and/or "head and neck area" targetings, what is a defender supposed to do? Run full speed while leading with the shoulder while also tilting one's head back while also being sure to make contact to chest or below while also slowing oneself to a subjectively "acceptable" standard of force?

 

[chipdouglas]

I also think we need to reform offensive holding. There is WAY too much inconsistency, and as fans we just accept it - "there's holding on every play." In the Peach Bowl, refs called just 1 holding in one of the worst games I've seen for holding, which completely changed the coordinators' game plans and the game's outcome/score. OTOH, we don't want holding called on every play.

As a classification of call, it's just become WAY too subjective, and it changes the winner and loser ALL THE TIME IMO

 

[CougSinceBirth]

I also think we need to reform offensive holding. There is WAY too much inconsistency, and as fans we just accept it - "there's holding on every play." In the Peach Bowl, refs called just 1 holding in one of the worst games I've seen for holding, which completely changed the coordinators' game plans and the game's outcome/score. OTOH, we don't want holding called on every play.

As a classification of call, it's just become WAY too subjective, and it changes the winner and loser ALL THE TIME IMO

That first (or second?) tOSU touchdown, the LT was holding the whole way. It was so blatant.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

Some interesting suggestions above.

My #1 would be that a defender's hand/arm touching the back of a receiver prior to the arrival of the ball is automatic PI. Call it the Pete Carroll rule, if you wish. Way too much pushing from behind as the receiver is trying to catch the ball.

I'd keep the requirement for the defender to look back; but my #2 is that if the defender is looking back and the offensive receiver initiates contact, it is offensive PI. Way too much offensive PI happens without a flag.

In an ideal world, the two above will promote a lot less contact while the ball is in the air. Of course, we don't live in an ideal world, and people who live for the living room replay can easily forget how hard it is to call a game in real time.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

There was a play in the Ohio State-Georgia game where Bullard (defender) smashed Harrison in the EZ in order to prevent the catch. Harrison may have gotten concussed, but it appears to be secondary as his head hit the turf after contact. On replay the targeting call was overturned and Ohio State settled for a FG. If it stood, Georgia probably loses the game.

Even in real time I hated the call. It was overturned, but feels like one that is NOT overturned 9 times out of 10. Trying to hit a receiver solidly enough to prevent catch-and-hold-on is part of football, and as in the case of most "led with the helmet" and/or "head and neck area" targetings, what is a defender supposed to do? Run full speed while leading with the shoulder while also tilting one's head back while also being sure to make contact to chest or below while also slowing oneself to a subjectively "acceptable" standard of force?

It all depends on how important player safety is. You're comment about hitting a receiver solidly is 100% the way that the game has always been played....but does that mean that it's the right way to play now? As I said before, if you got beat on a play, is allowing an unsafe hit to jar the ball loose the right thing to do?

We are in a strange place where we want players to be as safe as possible, but that has to be balanced with the pussification of the sport where it starts to feel more like flag football than tackle football.

 

[chipdouglas]

That first (or second?) tOSU touchdown, the LT was holding the whole way. It was so blatant.

In the 1Q I think, there was one play where a Georgia rusher was in a full-nelson by two different Buckeye OLs as Stroud completed a big pass. That was the most obvious one I saw.

I actually think the P12 refs in the game did a pretty good job, but it seems to me that officials decide BEFORE the game how tight or loose they're going to call things like holding, and that night they decided to let 'em play. As an official, I think once you mentally commit to a strategy, as it were, it's probably hard to change mid-game. I don't have anything against that but at the point that a B to B+ offensive line is effortlessly keeping 5 or more A+ rushers at bay on every play, something ain't right. If they call it tight, I think it's a much more lopsided game.

 

[Stretch 74]

YES! PI as a spot foul. I like that one.

I'd change your first idea too. If the offense fumbles through the endzone, the defense gets 2 points and the ball goes back to the 10.

Another change to penalty enforcement:

• Penalties on kick returns and dead ball fouls have yardage added after the ball is spotted. No more 10 yard penalty then 1st & 10. It's 1st & 20. Same idea for dead ball personal fouls on the offense - it's 1st & 25.

Completely agree with your enforcement suggestion! It really is non-sensical the way it is currently done.

I have several suggestions for improvement:
1. Motion penalties. If a player is in motion and moves toward the line of scrimmage, so what? Eliminate that penalty.

2. Maybe eliminate the holding penalty completely. Instead of continually trying to decide whether or not an OL is holding, just let everything go. Best wrestler wins the challenge and either gets to the QB or is able to successfully protect the QB. Plus, it eliminates the judgement call of whether the hold occured at the point of attack and should be called or it was on the opposite side of the field and is to be ignored.

3. I agree with eliminating the requirement for a defender to be looking back at the QB.

4. Eliminate the issue of a knee, elbow, thigh, or butt touching the ground. As long as the ball is moving forward (which IS the entire object of the game!) then the ball is live. The play is not dead until the ball's forward progress is stopped. If the ball carrier dives forward and slides 2 yards forward holding the ball out in front of him, then the ball is placed where the ball stops. If the guy is tackled near the goal line there is no concern about whether the knee was down before the ball crossed the plane of the goal as he was falling forward, if he is able to stretch the ball over the line, it is a TD.

5. False starts. It is ridiculous that a team can come up to the line, have everyone be set for the snap and then the OL rises up and looks over to the sideline. Then they come back to a set position and get a false start penalty called because the right guard's forearm twitches. WTF? Or a WR twitches like he is starting but his feet remained in place and a penalty is called. Why is a penalty called for these ticky tack violations and not when the entire line rises up from a set position? Again, it is non-sensical. And I seem to remember a time when the Cougs used the quick snap and also the mutts used it against us before they rose up to get the sideline signal.

6. How about making it legal for every player on a team to wear receivers in the helmets for calling the plays? Eliminate all the elaborate signaling in, sending in plays by switching players etc. That would allow for making the play clock time less, leading to more plays in a game. Lower it from 40 seconds to 30, 25 seconds to 20 for dead ball situations.

I guess that's enough for now. I have gone way past the original request for one suggestion. Sorry about that, but I just see so many ways to improve the game.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

In the 1Q I think, there was one play where a Georgia rusher was in a full-nelson by two different Buckeye OLs as Stroud completed a big pass. That was the most obvious one I saw.

I actually think the P12 refs in the game did a pretty good job, but it seems to me that officials decide BEFORE the game how tight or loose they're going to call things like holding, and that night they decided to let 'em play. As an official, I think once you mentally commit to a strategy, as it were, it's probably hard to change mid-game. I don't have anything against that but at the point that a B to B+ offensive line is effortlessly keeping 5 or more A+ rushers at bay on every play, something ain't right. If they call it tight, I think it's a much more lopsided game.

If officials just called holding every play they saw it, I bet there would be a ton of less holding in football, overall. I would actually be okay with this becoming the norm.

tOSU was egregious with their holding. But I agree, overall, P12 officials didn't embarrass themselves.

With the money the NCAA has, you think it would make most sense to have full time officials for all sports.

 

[Coug90]

Pac-12 refs aren’t allowed to referee again…ever

 

[Chucksizzle1]

All fields must be real grass, would greatly Reduce knee injuries and concussions.

 

[95coug]

Completely agree with your enforcement suggestion! It really is non-sensical the way it is currently done.

I have several suggestions for improvement:
1. Motion penalties. If a player is in motion and moves toward the line of scrimmage, so what? Eliminate that penalty.

2. Maybe eliminate the holding penalty completely. Instead of continually trying to decide whether or not an OL is holding, just let everything go. Best wrestler wins the challenge and either gets to the QB or is able to successfully protect the QB. Plus, it eliminates the judgement call of whether the hold occured at the point of attack and should be called or it was on the opposite side of the field and is to be ignored.

3. I agree with eliminating the requirement for a defender to be looking back at the QB.

4. Eliminate the issue of a knee, elbow, thigh, or butt touching the ground. As long as the ball is moving forward (which IS the entire object of the game!) then the ball is live. The play is not dead until the ball's forward progress is stopped. If the ball carrier dives forward and slides 2 yards forward holding the ball out in front of him, then the ball is placed where the ball stops. If the guy is tackled near the goal line there is no concern about whether the knee was down before the ball crossed the plane of the goal as he was falling forward, if he is able to stretch the ball over the line, it is a TD.

5. False starts. It is ridiculous that a team can come up to the line, have everyone be set for the snap and then the OL rises up and looks over to the sideline. Then they come back to a set position and get a false start penalty called because the right guard's forearm twitches. WTF? Or a WR twitches like he is starting but his feet remained in place and a penalty is called. Why is a penalty called for these ticky tack violations and not when the entire line rises up from a set position? Again, it is non-sensical. And I seem to remember a time when the Cougs used the quick snap and also the mutts used it against us before they rose up to get the sideline signal.

6. How about making it legal for every player on a team to wear receivers in the helmets for calling the plays? Eliminate all the elaborate signaling in, sending in plays by switching players etc. That would allow for making the play clock time less, leading to more plays in a game. Lower it from 40 seconds to 30, 25 seconds to 20 for dead ball situations.

I guess that's enough for now. I have gone way past the original request for one suggestion. Sorry about that, but I just see so many ways to improve the game.

1. I don't remember which league it was - one of the indoor leagues - receivers could be in motion forward, they just couldn't cross the line until it was snapped. I saw plays where the WR was at full speed at the snap, and just ran right by the DB. It made for some excitement, but then...the offense already has advantages, so I'm not sure about allowing this on the college field. I'm all in favor of not calling the twitch penalties though - it's only flagged if the feet move.
2. There's got to be something. Maybe you just flag it when the offense either wraps an arm around the defender or stretches out their jersey. You know...the really obvious ones.
3. You either have to make the defender play the ball, or outlaw face guarding. So, the DB can put his hands up to interfere with the catch, but can't put them in the receiver's face just to interfere with his vision. Becomes a judgement call again.
4. I like this one...sort of. But how about the ball carrier is down if anything other than a hand touches the ground and he's simultaneously touched by a defender? So if you make a catch on the 20 and the safety hits you and you roll down on the 17...you can get up and keep running. Encourages more wrap-up tackling and taking ballcarriers to the ground, rather than just hitting hard and knocking people down. Of course, if the safety hits you at the 20 and you fall back to the 22, your forward progress has stopped, so you're down.
5. Again, only flag it if the feet move...except the QB. He's not allowed to bob his head or turn his shoulders either.
6. Receivers only, with transmit only from one coach in the booth, and only for the first 10 seconds of the play clock. No having the coaches call audibles from above, the game stays on the field.

 

[kougkurt]

PI spot foul. Offense keeps the ball if fumbled onto pylon or out of end zone.

 

[CougPatrol]

PI spot foul. Offense keeps the ball if fumbled onto pylon or out of end zone.

No and no.

 

[95coug]

Pac-12 refs aren’t allowed to referee again…ever

Players call their own fouls, with a booth review option?

Or maybe a 10-15 second window to crowdsource whether the audience thinks it should be a penalty? Messaging charges apply...5 cents per vote, to the benefit of the home team's NIL fund?