Overtime Rules Changing For College Football

The college football season will not kickoff until late August, but the sport is already making headlines in April. According to a recent article by espn the sport will be making two significant rule changes. The controversial "targeting" penalty punishments will undergo changes. The new targeting penalty will be known as a "progressive penalty" as ESPN reporter Joel Anderson explains in the above article, a progressive penalty.:

means that players who commit three targeting fouls in the same season could face a one-game suspension

The second notable rule change involves the overtime period.

If a game reaches a fifth overtime, teams will no longer trade off starts at the opponent's 25-yard line. Instead, teams will run alternating two-point conversions until a winner is determined. Also, a two-minute rest period will be added after the second and fourth overtimes

 

 

I believe only one of two rules will be a positive for the sport in the future. The targeting rule will not penalize players as severely as in the past along with keeping impact players on the field. Under the current rules, college athletes were held to a higher standard on making defensive hits than the current NFL players do as the professional athletes could not be ejected for targeting. As a defender of the college overtime rule, the fifth overtime and over rule seems too gimmicky. The rule may rarely ever be used but this no longer becomes football after the fifth overtime in this new rule.

Do you believe college football made the right decision in changing these rules for the 2019 season? Let us know your thoughts below.