The status of the 2020 college football may be uncertain, but the NCAA has gone ahead with making rules changes for the upcoming campaign.

The NCAA announced multiple rules changes for the upcoming college football season. Some of the primary issues addressed involved the targeting rule and the amount of time an official can spend reviewing a play.

Players who commit a targeting violation in a game and are ejected from the contest will now be permitted to stand on the sideline with their team for the duration of the game, though they will not be allowed to re-enter the contest. That is a rule modification to the original which was created in 2013, forcing players to leave the field and head to the locker room following a targeting ejection.

All other aspects of the targeting rule remain the same.

In addition to the targeting rule, another major change will come on the allotted time officials have to review a ruling on the field. In 2020, replay officials must complete video reviews within two minutes. However, there continues to be a loophole the NCAA provides for replay officials, saying “reviews that are exceptionally complicated or involve end-of-game issues should be completed as efficiently as possible without a stated time limit.”

Other rule changes the NCAA announced include:

  • Players will be permitted to wear the number “0”
  • No more than two players can have the same number, they must play different positions and cannot be on the field at the same time
  • 90-minute officials’ jurisdiction before kickoff, an increase from 60 minutes.