The NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) has announced several rule changes for this fall's football season.
The most notable new one is probably what will be known as the "Dooley Rule" after the end of last year's Music City Bowl. You remember it, right?
North Carolina Tries To Lose Music City Bowl (via CozSweaters)
The new rule is that there can be a 10-second rundown of the clock if a team commits a penalty that stops the clock in the final minute of either half. The opponent can either accept the penalty and rundown, accept the penalty but not the rundown, or decline both. You can't take the time but not the yards.
Unfortunately, PROP decided to keep the rule on the books that allows some unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to be live ball penalties. We first heard about that a year ago, and the NCAA didn't reverse course on it. To recap: if a ref decides a player taunted the other team before crossing the goal line, the score will be nullified.
The other big rule change is that monitors can now be placed in the coaches' box to help them determine if they want to challenge plays. They'll only get to watch the live broadcast though, so coaches won't have to figure out how to do their own slow-mo replays. It will be left up to each school to decide whether they'll furnish monitors or not, but you figure every coaching staff is going to want them there.
Also approved were some detailed rules about blocking below the waist. Hit the link if you want that minutiae.