If You Were Ruler of the Football Rule Book, Which Rules Would You Change

Livingat45north

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For starters, I'd get rid of the "touch a knee and your down" rule. I'd change it to the NFL ruling where you need to be tackled or at least touched to be down. What else do ya got?
 


When a player fumbles going into end zone and ball goes out of bounds before recovery, resulting in a turnover and touch back. Would change it to remain fumbling team's possession, but put them at something like 10 or 20 yard line. Down counts.
 


1. Overtime is horrible. If you keep the format, start them at the 40 so they are out of FG range for most kickers.

2. Stopped clock on first down. I don't mind a pausing of the clock, but there should be at least a second of run-off for every 10 yards just for the sake most players can't move from point A to point B with zero time coming off the clock.

Traveling 80 yards in 11 seconds seems ridiculous to me.
 


Eliminate replay.

I don’t think I’d do that. I’d definitely switch to a 1 challenge system.
Get it right keep your challenge. Get it wrong lose all your timeouts. No timeouts left no challenges.

Which would essentially eliminate it for all but the most obvious.
 

The NFL has the right challenge system, and college should adopt it.
College has the right OT, and the NFL should adopt that.
 

The NFL has the right challenge system, and college should adopt it.
College has the right OT, and the NFL should adopt that.

Eliminate the guessing on where to spot the ball. Spot the ball where it is located when the whistle blows to stop the play. Don't guess, place it where the ball carrier is located when the whistle stops the play. QB sliding is one example that the ball is not spotted any where near when the whistle stops the play. Biggest guess work in the game. When the QB is touched, spot the ball at that point, not 3 yards back. The biggest disappointment to a defensive tackle is to sack the QB 5 yards deep to have the official spot the ball 3 yards deep because thst's where the QB was first touched. Spot the ball at the point where the whistle stopped the play.
 




1. Overtime is horrible. If you keep the format, start them at the 40 so they are out of FG range for most kickers.

2. Stopped clock on first down. I don't mind a pausing of the clock, but there should be at least a second of run-off for every 10 yards just for the sake most players can't move from point A to point B with zero time coming off the clock.

Traveling 80 yards in 11 seconds seems ridiculous to me.

Agree wholeheartedly with #1. I hate 24-24 games that end up 53-51. All those cheap touchdowns count on individual stats, burying players who preceded 12 game schedules and the overtime era. Plus it gives the wrong impression of what kind of game it really was.
 

For starters, I'd get rid of the "touch a knee and your down" rule. I'd change it to the NFL ruling where you need to be tackled or at least touched to be down. What else do ya got?

Agree. Drew Wolitarsky would’ve scored and we would’ve beaten Michigan. I’ve always hated that stupid rule anyway.

Also use NFL rules on the clock, and on OT.

Also you aren’t eligible to be a national champion without playing at least one FBS game on the other side of the Mason Dixon line from which you sit.

I like the pageantry of the college game and following recruiting, but the goofy college rules drive me crazy. Too much basketball on grass.
 

The requirement that a receiver has to have control of the ball all the way to the ground. If he has control when crossing the end zone line, or crossing a sideline, that should be it. If he tumbles and drops it later, too bad - control at the moment of hitting the line should be a catch.
 

Have the same punting rules as to the NFL regarding players running down field prior to the punt.
 



For starters, I'd get rid of the "touch a knee and your down" rule. I'd change it to the NFL ruling where you need to be tackled or at least touched to be down. What else do ya got?

This, this this! So a quarterback in the shot gun receives a bad snap, bends down to pick up the ball and his knee barely touches the ground, and he's considered down? STUPID!
 

Agree wholeheartedly with #1. I hate 24-24 games that end up 53-51. All those cheap touchdowns count on individual stats, burying players who preceded 12 game schedules and the overtime era. Plus it gives the wrong impression of what kind of game it really was.

Not to mention the very possibility of OT and how it scores makes me hesitant to ever bet the under.


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Not to mention the very possibility of OT and how it scores makes me hesitant to ever bet the under.


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Just make OT touchdowns worth 2 points and OT field goals worth 1 point. That would help. ;)
 

On a kick into the end zone, you must field the ball to get the ball at the 25. Otherwise, you get the ball at the 20. The rule was created to discourage returning the ball from the end zone, but if I team can't return it, reward the kicking team by giving the ball at the 20.

After two overtimes, call the game a tie.
 

I think they need to add a single point for missed field goals or when a punt goes into the end zone.
 

Once the OL is at the line of scrimmage, it is a false start if they have any movement, whether they have their hand on the ground or not.
Change the OT and start the ball at the 20, not the 25. It will shorten the possessions, as teams can only get 1 first down.
Make challenge rule similar to NFL.
Change the intentional grounding rule, If QB is inside the tackle box, then the pass has to be in the vicinity of a receiver and must land in the field of play.
once the QB is out of the pocket then the pass must cross the LOS and still land in the field of play. If not it is intentional grounding.
 

I never understood offsetting penalties. If one team commits a 5 yard penalty and the other 15, why do the offset? They are penalized different yardage for a reason. I would penalize the one team 10 yards in this example and replay the down.

I also don't like half the distance to the goal. Say a team is 1st and goal at the 10. They commit a 15 yard penalty. It's now 1st and goal at the 25. But if the defense does the same thing, it only goes to the 5. I would change the rule that it either automatically goes to the 2 yard line or is half the distance in this example, whichever hurts the penalized team more.
 

I would like to see the catch rule and fumble rules line up. If the ground can't cause a fumble, then it can't negate a catch. The threshold for a catch, especially in the NFL, is way too high.

Not a rule change but I would like a cap on time and number of replays a referee can see. Say 5 replays and 1 minute. If they can't decide, call stands.
 

Big rule change -- I'd get rid of NLI signing days. Instead a student can sign a NLI anytime during their senior year, say after Oct 15th. When they sign it, they have one week to back out of it (that way they can't be pressured into signing during a coach visit and be locked in). After that week, it's binding. The school can't say "sorry, we've found a better player", and the recruit can't flip at the last moment. Provides protection for both sides of the deal.
 

Just make OT touchdowns worth 2 points and OT field goals worth 1 point. That would help. ;)

Should just go to a "plus" or "minus" score, like they do in tennis (add-in, add-out). If you score a TD you're plus 7, if the other team then scores a TD then it's back to zero. The final score is the score at the end of regulation plus whatever scores were made in the final OT period (e.g., one team could get a field goal for +3 and another a TD for +7 and the win). Points scored and stats made in OT other than the winning OT period do not count towards season totals, the winning OT period does count.
 

Another one: Scholarships are guaranteed for the first two years. After the player's sophomore or redshirt freshman season, the player can transfer anywhere without sitting out. At the same time, teams can decide not to renew the scholarship at that time. If it's renewed, the scholarship has to be honored for as long as the players is there. If a player wants to transfer any other time, they have to sit out a year as it is now.
 

Not really a rule, but you have to win your conference to be eligible for the CFP.
 

1. Three points of contact while controlling the ball = a catch, period. In other words, if you control the ball and have two feet and your rear touch the ground while maintaining control, it is a catch. If you have two feet and take one more step it's a catch. None of this every single point of his body touched the ground while he had control but at the last second the tip caught the ground and moved slightly.

2. Teams can offer 22 scholarships per year + 1/2 per regular season loss. Teams under .500 round up, teams over .500 round down. The total number of FBS scholarships stays the same, but schools with worse records get the opportunity to sign more players to improve their team. In other words, the Gophers could sign 26 players this year by this rule, Alabama could sign 23. It could be potentially extended to the 85 scholarship limit with a 5 year rolling average.

3. Reviews have to be initiated within 15 seconds of the previous play being whistled dead.

4. Reviews have to be completed within 1 minute of initiation with an additional 30 seconds for times when they also need to identify where to spot a ball.

5. TV timeouts are reduced to 1 minute.

6. Any questionable call that goes against the Gophers is automatically reversed and the Gophers are given a bonus 15 yards. :)

7. Defensive holding and pass interference are only a first down if it occurred the other side of the first down marker or if the 5 yard/15 yard penalty results in a first down.

8. Offensive dead ball personal fouls/unsportsmanlikes that take place after getting a first down result in a first and 25.

9. Two offensive half the distance penalties on the same down result in a safety. On defense, two half the distance penalties on the same down result in first and goal at the 2 or current yard marker (whichever is better).

10. Allow teams beyond a certain yard marker (own 35?) to declare a touchback when kicking/punting and eliminate the actual kick. Especially for kickoffs from the 35.

11. Unsuccessful challenges result in a 10 yard penalty.

12. Replay officials can only review a play if it will result in a first down (or lack thereof), a change of possession (or lack thereof) or score (or lack thereof). Any other review needs to be initiated from a coach (with a limited number).

13. Multiple penalties by one team on a play are all enforced. If two guys hold, two 10 yard penalties. If nothing else, one penalty and any 15 yard penalties would be enforced.
 

NDSU fans not allowed to post here.

Oh, you mean NCAA football rules!
 

2. Teams can offer 22 scholarships per year + 1/2 per regular season loss. Teams under .500 round up, teams over .500 round down. The total number of FBS scholarships stays the same, but schools with worse records get the opportunity to sign more players to improve their team. In other words, the Gophers could sign 26 players this year by this rule, Alabama could sign 23. It could be potentially extended to the 85 scholarship limit with a 5 year rolling average.

Love this.
 

Loosen up the holding rule. If it’s not going to be consistently enforced get rid of it, eg, limit it to disallowing tackling only. Allow arm bars, grabbing outside the shoulders, and impeding of ambulation towards the ball holder as is done on every play. Stop the random and infuriating and generally mystifying selectively enforced drive killing penalties.
 

7. Defensive holding and pass interference are only a first down if it occurred the other side of the first down marker or if the 5 yard/15 yard penalty results in a first down.

I hate anything that is an automatic first down unless it is a personal foul. The worst is in the NFL with the 5 yard illegal contact rule. It gives the offense an automatic first down for something that usually can be called just about every pass play.

I'm also glad college does not adopt the spot of the foul rule for pass interference. I hate in the NFL that a very questionable PI call can be a 50 yard penalty.
 




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