College Football Rules Panel Floats a New Targeting Suspension Tier and Adds Fair Catch Kick Option

A Division I football rules panel has proposed a one year trial change to the targeting ejection penalty, along with a new fair catch kick option and a stricter uniform requirement aimed at standardizing leg coverings.

Targeting penalty would change for first time offenders

Under the proposal, a player disqualified for targeting for the first time would be allowed to play the entire next game, regardless of whether the foul occurred in the first half or second half. Under the current rule, a player ejected for targeting must leave the game and, if the foul occurs in the second half, sit out the first half of the next game.

The panel’s proposal adds a progressive discipline structure for repeat targeting ejections within the same season. A second targeting disqualification would result in the player sitting out the first half of the next game. A third targeting ejection in the same season would result in the player sitting out the entire next game.

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The panel’s description of targeting remained unchanged in the proposal summary: “Targeting is forcible contact with an opponent’s head or neck area in which the offending player often uses the crown of his helmet to make contact or launches his body into the opposing player above the shoulders.”

A.J. Edds, the rules subcommittee chair and vice president of football administration for the Big Ten, said the goal is to balance safety and enforcement. “This continues the evolution of our targeting rule and balances the important safety impact with an appropriate penalty structure,” Edds said. “We will closely monitor this one-year adjustment, and the committee believes it is important to enhance the progressive penalty to ensure proper coaching and player education.”

The proposals are not final. Oversight committees for the Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision must approve them before they become official, and those committees meet next month.

Fair catch kick proposal would add a rarely seen scoring play

The panel also proposed allowing teams to attempt a fair catch kick following a completed or awarded fair catch. Under the proposal, the kick would be a field goal place kick with a holder or a drop kick from the spot where the returner caught the ball, with the defense positioned at least 10 yards from the spot of the kick. If the kick goes through the uprights, it would be worth three points.

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The play is permitted in the NFL and high school football and is rarely used. Subcommittee members stated the change would align Division I rules with those codes. The proposal referenced an NFL example from 2024, when Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker made a fair catch kick from 57 yards against the Denver Broncos.

Uniform enforcement would target “socks to pants” consistency

Another proposal would require players to wear leg coverings from the top of their shoes to the bottom of their pants. The proposal would also require players to wear the same covering style and colors for that particular game.

The enforcement ladder under the proposal is incremental:

First offense: warning
Out of compliance: player must leave the game for at least one down and correct the issue.
Second offense: 5 yard penalty
Subsequent offenses: 15 yard penalty

Edds said the uniform appearance has become a point of emphasis. “The current look of the uniform is clearly not meeting the expectations of the college football community,” he said. “This will take a collective effort by administrators, coaches and officials to communicate expectations to players and equipment managers. This proposal, we believe, is definitive and gives us a chance for consistent enforcement across Division I football.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian reacted to the leg covering proposal with a question about enforcement. “I’m just trying to figure out how we’re going to police socks to pants,” Sarkisian said. “The NFL has that rule and they fine the players when they don’t meet their uniform requirements,” he said, adding, “Are we hiring uniform police that the NFL does, and they come and they assess every player and they dock them pay and they fine them for when they’re suited properly? I would assume instead of worrying about socks to pants, are we going to tuck in our shirts? We’ve got T-shirts hanging out down to our knees now. There’s a lot of things, but for that to come up as being an issue seems kind of odd.”

If approved next month, the targeting trial would adjust how suspensions carry over week to week, the fair catch kick would add a niche scoring option late in halves, and the uniform rule would give officials a defined enforcement structure for leg covering compliance.

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