What is the new targeting ejection rule? Explaining trial change for 2026 season
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Targeting has long been one of college football's most controversial penalties, often carrying consequences that extend far beyond a single play.
In addition to an automatic ejection, a targeting call has historically also sidelined players for the remainder of a game or, depending on when the penalty was called, the first half of the next contest.
That created major ramifications for teams in high-stakes matchups, conference championship races and the College Football Playoff.
With the 2026 college football season set to kick off in earnest Saturday, a significant change to the targeting rule is also taking effect. Here's what to know on the change:
Targeting ejection rule changes for college football in 2026
The NCAA Division I FBS Oversight Committee in March approved a one-year trial that modified how targeting penalties would be enforced in college football season in 2026.
Under the amended rule, a player disqualified for targeting will be eligible to play in his team's next game regardless of when the foul occurs. Previously, players flagged for targeting in the first half were ejected for the remainder of that game, while those penalized in the second half were forced to sit out the rest of the game and the first half of their team's next contest.
"I believe the discussion had been for a while the severity of this penalty, and we think the rule has demonstrated (the game) has really responded," Big 12 Coordinator of Officials Greg Burks told USA TODAY Sports in April. "The number of targeting penalties has gone down. The plays we saw, the head-hunting we saw in the past, you just don’t see anymore.
"The safety factor was driving the rule and was the impetus and that kind of has come to fruition."
That said, should a player be disqualified for targeting a second time during the season, he will then be forced to miss the first half of the next game. If a player is disqualified for a third targeting penalty during the season, the player will be required to miss the entire next game.
The release also stated that a conference has the option to initiate an appeals process after a player’s second targeting offense.
What is targeting?
As noted in the NCAA Football rule book, a targeting penalty generally must meet one of the following criteria:
- Leading with the crown of the helmet
- Making forcible contact to head or neck area of a defenseless player
Other aspects of the act of targeting include launching (a player leaving their feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body); a crouch, followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area; and leading with your shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack.
Moreover, any of the following situations might contribute to a player being deemed "defenseless":
- A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass
- A receiver attempting to catch a forward pass or in position to receive a backward pass, or one who has completed a catch and has not had time backward pass, or one who has completed a catch and has not had time
- A kicker in the act of or just after kicking a ball
- A kick returner attempting to catch or recover a kick, or one who has completed a catch or recovery and has not had time to protect themselves
- A player on the ground, out of bounds, or who receives a blind-side block
- A ball carrier already in the grasp of an opponent and whose forward momentum has stopped
- A quarterback any time after a change of possession
- A ball carrier who has obviously given themselves up and is sliding feet first
- A player attempting to recover a loose ball.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the new targeting ejection rule? Explaining trial change for 2026 season
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos