The NCAA could make rule changes that alter modern football strategy

Could momentum-stopping timeouts, a longtime staple in college basketball, come to college football?

[BOOKMARK: Check Inside Texas daily for FREE Texas Longhorns content]

That could be a result if one of the new modifications to injury timeout rules proposed by the NCAA Football Rules Committee last week comes to fruition.

On Friday, the Rules Committee “recommended that if medical personnel enter the field to evaluate an injured player after the ball is spotted by the officiating crew for the next play, that player’s team would be charged a timeout.”

A five-yard delay-of-game penalty would be assessed if the team is out of timeouts.

The key words there are “spotted for play.” This proposal was likely made with Lane Kiffin‘s Ole Miss in mind. On several occasions during the 2024 season, a Rebel defender would fall to the turf at a given signal if the Ole Miss defense was on its heels and surrendering yards in chunks. It wasn’t limited to Ole Miss as other College Football Playoff teams used the strategy, but the Rebels were a repeat offender during the 2024 season and drew the most ire because of it.

The NCAA release continued, saying “the impetus for recommending this change is to provide an in-game mechanism that can curtail the faking of injuries because committee members think these actions negatively affect the overall perception of the game.”

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, the co-chair of the Football Rules Committee, said the following in a press release: “The committee identified the time period after the ball has been spotted as the most egregious violations of the injury timeout rule and is addressing the issue this way. Having a set time frame of when the game is stopped for an injured player should hopefully help curtail the strategy of having players fake injuries.”

If the opportunity to stop play via feigned injury is no longer available, then coaches could look toward other methods in order to stifle their opponent’s momentum. One of those methods? Just to use the timeout.

This is common in college basketball, especially in the men’s game where teams have a “use it or lose it” timeout in the first half. It behooves a team to use that stoppage in order to recalibrate their defense and make sure that the bleeding stops.

Coaches view their timeouts as precious. They do only have three of them per half, after all. Plus, adjustments within a basketball huddle are easier to immediately apply than ones made in a football huddle within a 30-second window. But if stopping play is valuable enough to violate the spirit of sportsmanship, is the idea of using a timeout really so farfetched?

The faking of injuries isn’t something that popped up in 2024. The 2019 LSU Tigers, in all their greatness, struggled to avoid the acting allegations. But those accusations were easily forgotten when Joe Burrow threw bombs to Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Terrace Marshall.

You may never hear Kirk Herbstreit screaming “time to call a T-O baby” like his ESPN colleague Dick Vitale, but maybe it’s something coaches consider without the ability to tell their charges to drop to the turf to stop play.

[Join Inside Texas TODAY and get 7 days for just ONE DOLLAR!]

Other Rules proposals, via the NCAA

• Committee members also proposed that if a game reaches a third overtime, each team would have one timeout to use until the game is concluded. 
• Recommended that when the decision on instant replay is announced, the referee say only that the call on the field is “upheld” or “overturned.” The terms “confirmed” and “stands” would not be used.
• Proposed that no player be in the direct line of the snap to the potential kicker on punts. No player could be within the frame of the snapper. It would be an illegal formation if the team doesn’t have the required number of players on the line. Also, if the snapper is on the end of the line by formation, the snapper would lose scrimmage kick protection, and the opposition could line a player over the snapper.
• Recommended if any player on a kickoff-return team makes a “T” signal during the kick, the play would be whistled dead.
• Proposed enhanced rules regarding words or signals that distract opponents when they are preparing to put the ball in play. No player could call defensive signals that simulate the sound or cadence of the offensive signals. The defensive terms “move” and “stem” would be reserved for players on that side of the ball and could not be used by the offense. 
• Recommended that after the two-minute timeout in either half, if the defense commits a foul with 12 or more players on the field and they participate in the play, the officials would administer a 5-yard penalty. The offensive team would have the option to reset the game clock back to the time at the start of the play. If the 12th player is attempting to leave the field and has no influence on the play, the defensive team would be penalized 5 yards with no adjustment to the game clock.
• Proposed that coach-to-player communication, similar to technology implemented for the Football Bowl Subdivision last year, be permissive for teams that compete in the Football Championship Subdivision.
• The committee had a thorough discussion about player health and safety, including the targeting rule. The committee will seek conference commissioner feedback and further discussion on player safety rules.