NCAA Looks To Limit Fake Injuries

The NCAA proposed a rule change last week that would penalize teams by either losing a timeout or being charged a five-yard penalty if they’re caught faking an injury. The football rules committee announced the proposition to limit fake injuries when medical personnel look at players after the ball is spotted in an effort to delay the game.

The NCAA’s playing rules oversight panel will meet in April to discuss the proposal.

CFB teams could be charged with a timeout or penalty for players faking injuries.

The NCAA football rules committee proposed a timeout charge when medical personnel enter the field to evaluate players after the ball has been spotted for the ensuing play.https://t.co/NUsCTZ6Qol

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) February 28, 2025

What it Entails

Teams and coaches have long been under scrutiny for faking injuries to allow their team to get set defensively. It’s helps teams rest late in the game without having to use a timeout.

like I said… the fakest “injury” ever by Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts pic.twitter.com/w50uqG74ZP

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) January 2, 2025

Under the proposed rule, if a player goes down and medical personnel comes onto the field after the ball is spotted, teams would lose a timeout. If they have none remaining they’d be assessed a five-yard delay-of-game penalty.

“Coaches value their timeouts incredibly,” Steve Shaw, the NCAA’s coordinator of officials, said in an ESPN report.

Will it Work?

Remember Kenny Pickett’s infamous fake slide in the 2021 ACC Championship? The former Pittsburgh quarterback faked a slide that led to a 58-yard rushing touchdown early in the conference title game.

Less than a week after the play, the NCAA banned the fake slide, virtually dubbing it the “Kenny Pickett Rule”. The ball would now be declared dead on the spot if a runner fakes a slide. Since then, there hasn’t been nearly as much talk about the controversy.

If the NCAA follows suit in creating the rule regarding fake injuries, it could feature similar success to that of the sliding rule.

Other Rules

The rules committee also proposed changes that would give teams only one timeout for the rest of the game if the game goes into a third overtime. Teams are currently given one timeout each overtime period.

The full list of proposals can be found here.