College Football rule changes

(Undated/Minnesota News Network) — As college football rolls into its first full week of games, fans should be aware of a handful of new rules being implemented for the 2025 season. Big Ten coordinator of officials Bill Carollo says most of the rule tweaks won’t be noticeable by most fans. He says defenses no longer being allowed to clap or yell certain words known to be used by the offense to start a play. That will now be a delay of game penalty. In addition, if a player is injured, but doesn’t go down until after the ball is spotted and ready for the next play, then the injured player’s team will be charged a timeout. If the team doesn’t have a timeout, then a five-yard delay of game penalty will be assessed. Carollo says this is an attempt to stop players from faking injuries to slow down a fast-paced offense. Carollo says there are a handful of other rule changes, including how teams can line up in punt formation and officially making the “T” signal a touchback or faircatch for kick and punt returners. Big Ten football begins on Thursday night, with the Golden Gophers hosting Buffalo.