July 28, 2008

Hold it - NCAA changes facemasking rules for 2008

One of the rule changes for the upcoming college football season is the new implementation of the rule regarding facemasking. Under the revised rule, grabbing the facemask incidentally will no longer be a penalty. However, any pulling or twisting of the facemask will result in a fifteen-yard personal foul penalty. In the past, incidental facemasking has resulted in a five-yard penalty.

Here is the explanation from the NCAA's advisory document highlighting the rule revisions:

Face-Mask Foul (Rule 9-1-2-q). There is no longer a foul if any player grabs an opponent’s face mask without pulling, twisting, or turning it. The five-yard penalty has been eliminated. This change does not change the safety aspect of this rule. Pulling, twisting, or turning an opponent’s face mask remains a personal foul with a 15-yard penalty.

I think this is a good revision to the facemasking rule. While some may argue that it leaves too much to interpretation, I don't see a significant difference. Under the old rule, the referees were tasked with determining intent and/or severity. Under the new revision, it's the exact same thing - the referees must determine intent and/or severity.

The key difference will be that under the revision an incidental facemask touch will not alter the outcome of the game and I think any revision that puts the game in the hands of the players/coaches is a good one.

Now... if the NCAA would just do something about cut blocks....

Comments:

Hold it - NCAA changes facemasking rules for 2008
One of the rule changes for the upcoming college football season is the new implementation of the rule regarding facemasking. Under the revised rule, grabbing the facemask incidentally will no longer be a penalty. However, any pulling or twisting of the facemask will result in a fifteen-yard personal foul penalty. In the past, incidental facemasking has resulted in a five-yard penalty. Here is the explanation from the NCAA's advisory document highlighting the rule revisions:
Face-Mask Foul (Rule 9-1-2-q). There is no longer a foul if any player grabs an opponent’s face mask without pulling, twisting, or turning it. The five-yard penalty has been eliminated. This change does not change the safety aspect of this rule. Pulling, twisting, or turning an opponent’s face mask remains a personal foul with a 15-yard penalty.
I think this is a good revision to the facemasking rule. While some may argue that it leaves too much to interpretation, I don't see a significant difference. Under the old rule, the referees were tasked with determining intent and/or severity. Under the new revision, it's the exact same thing - the referees must determine intent and/or severity. The key difference will be that under the revision an incidental facemask touch will not alter the outcome of the game and I think any revision that puts the game in the hands of the players/coaches is a good one. Now... if the NCAA would just do something about cut blocks....