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NCAA approves changes to college football overtime, cracking down on faking injuries and taunting

By Braulio Perez

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: A general view of the CPF National Championship midfield logo before the College Football Playoff National Championship football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: A general view of the CPF National Championship midfield logo before the College Football Playoff National Championship football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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The NCAA announced big changes coming to college football overtime as well as cracking down on taunting and teams faking injuries.

A big change is coming to college football overtime.

Widely considered the best overtime, the NCAA announced a big tweak that will change how college football operates beyond the fourth quarter. Beginning this season, teams will have to go for a two-point conversion starting in the second overtime. Previously, teams didn’t have to do this until the third overtime.

Additionally, if games advance to a third overtime, teams will have a two-point shootout of sorts instead of beginning at the 25-yard line in the first overtime periods. Teams will alternate two-point plays from the traditional line of scrimmage for two-point conversion tries.

The NCAA also announced they’ll be cracking down on players faking injuries. In recent years, how many times have we seen college football players fake injuries in order to buy their team some extra time in overtime? Too many to count, which has added plenty of frustration for fans across the country.

Well, the NCAA is ready to change things in a big way. That’s because it was announced this week that the panel has approved a new policy that will allow for a school or their conference to “request a postgame video review about questionable actions through the NCAA secretary-rules editor/national coordinator of officials.”

Faking injuries could not have major consequences for NCAA football players

This new plan is surely being celebrated by countless fans. Time and time again, players have gone down with questionable injuries with showdowns on the line. The main focus here is to try and slow down up-tempo offenses and provide defenses with a bit of a breather. When this occurs, no one is fooling anybody. If an offense is humming and a player “cramps up” or sluggishly throws himself to the turf, things could not be more obvious.

The NCAA has of course heard all of these cries, which is why they’ve opened the door to investigating these kinds of plays if they continue to happen moving forward.

So, if you’re thinking of slowing down Clemson or Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense over at Mississippi State, you might want to think twice before ordering one of your players to go down. The NCAA will now have the ability to consider disciplining you for it, which would of course be embarrassing.

Other rules and points of emphasis include a crackdown on taunting, uniform violations and coaches leaving the team area (which is between the 20-yard lines) to confront officials.

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