NCAA changes rule on targeting penalty

The NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel voted on Thursday to change the rule of the targeting penalty if the penalty is reviewed as a clean hit.

In the 2013 football season the NCAA enforced a targeting rule which would penalize a team 15 yards for a hit to the head that the officials deemed intentional and the player who made the hit would be ejected.

The play would then be reviewed by officials to decide whether or not the hit seemed to be intentional and if the player should have been ejected. If they thought that the hit was clean and unintentional the player could stay in the game but the team was still penalized the 15 yards, according to CBS Sports.

ESPN reports that teams will no longer be penalized 15 yards if officials reverse a targeting penalty after reviewing the play, going into effect at the start of the 2014 season.

This is a smart move by the NCAA. If a hit was deemed as an unintentional hit to the head after the official review, the team and player should not be penalized for a clean hit.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

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