College football rules changes for 2024 season: What we expect to see (2024)

Part of the major rule changes coming to college football this upcoming 2024 seasonis the implementation of in-helmet communication between players and coaches during games. Long overdue in college football, coach-to-player communication inside the helmet should further strengthen offensive teams who bread and butter is through pre-snap reading an adjustments.

Ole Miss head coachLane Kiffinhas often referred to the in-helmet communication this offseason as a "cheat code" forthe Rebels up-tempo offense, but because both teams have the technology.

"Most of the time, it would be a quarterback or middle linebacker for most," Kiffin said last week,via Inside The Rebels. "Whoever that player is, it truly is like a cheat code. When you're getting talked to or reminded of everything: run, pass, gaps, splits, alignments, what to check to. It's a game-changer, but I don't know that you're going to notice as much because I don't know that it's not kind of neutralized."

Florida coach Billy Napier said it benefits the defensive signal callers, too. Typically, there is still quite a bit of time left on the play clock by the time the call comes in for either side. The in-helmet communication gives coaches an ability to talk directly to the player with the device, potentially alerting run or pass, setting protection or defensive fronts, etc., before it shuts off at the 15-second mark.

The tempo or pace at which an offense operates could have an effect as well.

"You can shrink the game, or you lengthen the amount or shrink the am ount of time the opponent has with their signalcaller on the defense," Napier said. "Or, you speed it up so you can talk to your guy more. Every coach in America is going through this right now."

In-helmet communication will be shut off 15 seconds before the end of the play clock and the player designated with communication from the sideline will have a green dot on his helmet. The NCAA says all FBS teams will be allowed to use up to 18 tablets for viewing in-game replays, including broadcast feeds and specific camera angles.

Rules committee co-chair and Georgia coach Kirby Smart said this spring the move to helmet communication is to grow college football closer to its NFL counterpart and is not a result ofMichigan's sign-stealing sagaand teams intercepting signals — as some suggested. Former Michigan staffer Connor Stalionsresigned from his positionlastNovember, two weeks after his suspension as the NCAA investigated his alleged role in Michigan's advanced scouting and sign-stealing scandal that resulted in a multi-game suspension for former coach Jim Harbaugh.

Stalions — reported to have bought tickets for more than 30 games at 12 of 13 other Big Ten venues over the last twoseasons — was the only Michigan staff memberdirectly tied tothe NCAA investigation, which began last October. Stalions reportedly bought tickets in his name, then paid third-party members to attend the game and film opponents' sidelines to help his role of picking up opponents' signs.

"That's not what the sole intent was,"Smart said, via ESPN. "I've been on the rules committee now three to four years, and coach-to-player communication has come up every single year. It's been talked about. We've been evolving, trying to get closer to it. A lot of coaches debate, talk about how this is not going to stop people from signaling, or having the big cardboard signs on the sideline. A lot of people have said it would take 11 headsets to take that way, or three or four headsets to take that away. That's not the intent. The intent is to get a little closer to what the NFL has done to allow communication. We don't know where it's going to take us, so we're going to onboard one step at a time. It allows communication between mostly your quarterback and somebody on defense, and we'll find out where it takes us."

Double two-minute warnings are coming to college football at the end of each half, whichdoesn't necessarily mean an assist for TV networks with more advertisem*nt time as well, per reports. Stoppage in play will not only assist in game-planning in the final moments of the second and fourth quarters, but personnel changes will be easier, too. No additional timeouts are being given to teams, but a pair of two-minute stoppages should help coaching staffs and players with execution.In other words, an offense on the move should be aided by the two-minute warning, which could result in more competitive finishes next season. College footballhas never had atwo-minute warning, a time stoppage that started at the professional level in 1942.

Consecutive timeoutshave also been outlawed. Teamsare no longer be allowed to "ice the kicker" before a field goal attempt, nor is a head coach able to signal a timeout before an offensive or defensive snap if his team is coming out of one the previous play. While the latter is rare, it does happen. With this change, coaches will be less likely to hold as many timeouts as they can for late-game situations. They can't take them with them, and now, opportunities might be spare in the final moments.

There was also a change to untimed-down scenarios. No longer can the first quarter or third quarter be extended by an untimed down following a defensive penalty. Instead, that penalty will be assessed to begin the ensuing quarter. This is a change that may go unnoticed for the most part, but the down will be clocked in the second or fourth quarter, according to the NCAA's updated rulebook.There are no changes if a defensive penalty happens at the end of the first or second half and will be played as an untimed down as before.

"We're stopping the game and the large majority of the time, we're not changing the ruling on the field," McDaid said earlier this summer. "Certainly this is true in the SEC and I think nationally, we're all on the same page of the standards we're supposed to potentially changing the call on the field. There's advocation for adopting more of the NFL model. More of a hybrid model where we're still stopping the game for certain scenarios, but leaving a lot of the reviewable elements of the game to coaches challenges."

Now, there's no limits on staff analysts and they're allowed to actively coach during practice or on gamedays. Larger programs have more funds for various analysts.

"I think that that's probably good," Kiffin said over the summer after the analyst changes were introduced. "You know, everybody has the opportunity now, and I guess when I think of decisions to make, I usually look to the NFL because they been doing it for a long time; they have things nailed.To me, usually in this free agency portal and things I've said about too many windows and not having real contracts and all that, the NFL has it figured out.

"So I think in this instance, there is an accountable coach there and there isn't somebody that can coach but then can't run the film or can hold a card but can't really coach, can't have a headset. So I think I would defer to that, that that's a good system in the NFL; now we have that in college."

College football's various rules changes over the last few years, including the crack down on targeting, players faking injuries and majoralterations to blocking below the waist all emphasize player safety. Therules committee recommended appeals for targeting suspensionsas early as2022 and now, conference offices are able to request a review from the national coordinator of officials to determine if a player was incorrectly penalized for a specific hit. McDaid explained in detail last summer that many of the recent changes — notably college football'srevisions against blocking below the waist — were hot-button offseason topics among coaches. According to McDaid, playbooks had to be revised and how games are called by offensive coordinators tweaked based on the new rules.

Faked or exaggerated injuries are a growing trend in college football, especially for defenses combatting tempo-driven offenses.The NCAA, however,chose not to add in-game penalties for players accused of faking injuries, but other postgame penalties could be assessed.Supposed fake injuries were a topic of conversation following Ole Miss' road win at Tennessee during the 2021 season, and that was not the last time either school was involved in a game that drew suspicions on the front.The topic resurfaced following Ole Miss' Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi Statein November 2021and then again during Tennessee's Music City Bowl loss to Purdue that season.

According to the NCAA, “in an attempt to crack down on teams awarded an injury timeout after a player fakes an injury, schools and conferences will be able to report questionable scenarios to the national coordinator of officials. The coordinator will provide feedback. Any penalties levied would be up to the conference office or school involved.”