Pace of play, safety highlight rule changes for 2018 football season

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Football season is rapidly approaching and with that comes some rule changes that fans of college programs should familiarize themselves with prior to kickoff.

In the Big 12 Conference, new coordinator of officials Greg Burks who officiated the league from 1996-2014, provides insight on what will be different for this coming fall.

From an on the field perspective, perhaps one of the biggest alterations from last season comes on kickoffs where teams will now be allowed to advance the ball to the 25-yard line if they fair catch a kick inside of that yard-marker.

That means unlike in the past when teams would be able to pooch kick the ball to pin teams behind the 25 and force them to return the ball, now players can simply call for fair catches and the ball will be advanced to the spot of a touchback.

“It’s an effort to make kickoffs safer,” Burks said.

Pace of play is also always another interesting aspect when looking at possible rules changes and there will be some noticeable differences on that front as well. Biggest will come with a new running 40-second play clock that will be started immediately after touchdowns and free kicks.

The clock will be started and run like a regular play from scrimmage, while the referee will stand between the center and the holder in order to get replay confirmation of the score. If that does occur before 25-seconds are on the clock, the play will proceed as normal.

If a review is necessary, that will be done and then the clock will be reset to 25.

The goal is to try to make games come in at around three hours and no longer than three hours and 30 minutes without removing any plays from the game.

“Always looking for a way to speed up the game,” Burks said.

Another alteration to the rules that could also fall under that umbrella is that now teams will not be required to attempt the point after touchdown on a score as time expires as they have in the past. Teams now will be given the option if they want to come out or just end the game.

On the field there has been some alterations to the rules governing blocks below the waist as the goal is once again to make the gamer safer for all involved. There will be no changes to lineman in the initial position from tackle to tackle with the ball in the box but all other players are only allowed to block below the waist if its directed to the front at a 10-2 position.

Offensive players also are now only permitted to block within five yards of the line of scrimmage below the waist, a significant change considering they used to be permitted to do so anywhere on the field.

“It’s a blindside block that players don’t see,” Burks said.

The final change to the rule comes in the fact that any player lined up outside the tackles or in motion cannot block below the waist at the initial position of the snap, basically eliminating crack-back blocks.

From a pure uniform standpoint, players are now required to have their knees covered at all times or they are subjected to removal from the game for at least one play or until the issue is corrected. Same can be said for players wearing t-shirts under their jerseys, they must match the color of the uniform or be tucked in at all times, and the back-pad must also be covered at all times.

The final adjustment there is that the mid-jerseys popularized by Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott are now considered illegal and they have to reach the pants level or be tucked in.

“When you push the jerseys out you can’t see the numbers,” Burks said.

Screens also will be added to the sidelines in order for officials to look at replays while the conference works in tandem in order to determine the outcome of calls.

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