Get Ready For Some Rule Changes This Fall

Every year we get a couple new rule changes in college football. This year is no exception. These new rules will mimic the NFL rules changes and will have an outcome on the way your favorite team celebrates, make tackles, and manage the clock. Here are some of the rule changes and my takes:

• Sportsmanship and Show Boating will now carry a 15 yard penalty. I understand this rule but it does take some creative fun out of the game. A college kid shouldn't go Chad Johnson, but he should be able to have a little fun. So I am afraid this penalty is going to be called way too often.
• Contact initiated by a defender with the crown of his helmet. This is a good penalty and is keeping safety in mind for both the offense and defense, my hope is they don't call a penalty on every big hit. This should only be called when the defender leads with his helmet.
• The Belichick Rule: No video taping the other team personnel. Good rule.
• All Face Mask penalties are 15 yards. No more 5 yarder. I like the 5 yard penalty and thought all face mask shouldn't be personal foul. Guess how many 3rd down stops are going to result in a 1st down? A lot!
• New Replay Rules: Certain field-goal attempts can now be reviewed, instances where a player is ruled down and a loose ball is immediately recovered, instances where a player is ruled out of bounds when he immediately carries the ball across the goal line.
• Head coaches now will retain a challenge if their initial challenge was successful.
• The Clock is one of the biggest changes for this season. The old system was the 25 second clock was started when the ball was ready for play. The new rule is a 40 second clock that will start as soon as the play is called dead. The clock will start automatically and you have 40 seconds for the ref to spot the ball and get the play off.
• With Two Minutes left in the half or the game, the play clock will start at the snap of the ball. Hopefully, this will let more teams get off more plays in under two minutes.

Should be interesting to see how these rules change the game. The clock change should have a big impact.