Rules review video: Targeting review, illegal touching by an ineligible number, and illegal motion

2024 Media video #15

National coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw posted his weekly, and last video of the 2024 season, breaking down rules and interpretations from week 14 of the college football season.

Before discussing plays for this week, Shaw went over targeting foul statistics for the season. Thus far, officials have enforced 124 targeting fouls in 839 FBS games. Shaw notes that they’re in a four-year downward trend in targeting fouls, down from one foul every four games in 2020 to today’s one foul every seven games.

However, we should note that the replay official’s criteria for confirming or applying a targeting foul changed; all aspects of targeting now require confirmation, thus reducing the number of enforced targeting fouls. Still, the downward trend is definitely a positive development.

• Targeting. After a throw downfield, a defender lays out a receiver with a big hit. Although no flag was thrown, replay stopped the game to examine the play for possible targeting. Replay confirmed that all aspects of targeting were there on the play with the receiver defenseless, the defender launching himself and contact made with the shoulder to the head/neck area of the receiver. Replay applied a foul for targeting and disqualified the defender.
• Illegal motion. On a two-point conversion play, a receiver of the offense went in motion prior to the snap. When the ball was snapped, the LOS official flagged the receiver, who then failed to convert the two-point try. The foul was for illegal motion on the receiver and the foul was because, by rule, a player on the line of scrimmage may not be in motion prior to the snap. Any player that goes in motion must be a back, and since this player started on the LOS, he may not go in motion unless, prior to that motion, he moved off the line of scrimmage and reset. Because the conversion failed, the defense declined the penalty.
• Illegal touching. On a first and goal play, the QB rolled out and threw a forward pass toward to opposite sideline to #55 on the offense, who caught the pass. The defense tackled the player, but a flag was thrown on the play. This was a foul for illegal touching because, while this player was the end-man on the formation, he must also have a number that is not 50-79 (ineligible by number). The NCAA rules do not allow ineligible numbers to report to be an eligible receiver. Eligibility rules are not applicable if either the defense touches the pass or if the pass is backward.
• Goal line extended. The QB ran from the 15-yard line on 4th & 2, tightroping the sideline near the goal line, and was ruled out of bound just inside the 1-yard line. Replay initiated a review to see if the runner had scored. Replay showed that the runner never stepped out of bounds and contacted the pylon with the ball passing outside of the pylon. By rule, the ball is immediately dead when the pylon is contacted and gets goal line extended. On this play, the ball clearly broke the goal line extended when the pylon was contacted, so replay awarded a touchdown after review.
• Kicking team recovery. After the offense punted the ball, the receiver gave a fair catch signal but muffed the punt with the ball bouncing directly to a kicking team player. The kicking team player advanced the ball a few yards before going to the ground. By rule, a kicking team player cannot advance a kick, and it is important for officials to know if a kick was muffed or if the receiver gained possession and subsequently fumbled the return. In the latter case, the kicking team can advance the ball after recovery.
• Horse collar tackle. The back took the handoff and advanced to the right side, where a defender made the tackle. The LOS official on that side threw a flag for a potential horse collar tackle. After a brief discussion, the referee announced that there was no foul for a horse collar tackle. While the defender grabbed the back’s nameplate area, which is part of the horse collar tackle rule, the defender did not abruptly pull down the back. The intention of the rule is to protect runners from this abrupt, backward tackle. In this case the abrupt pull down was not present, so the flag was picked up.