The proposed new ejection rule for targeting got me thinking: How many ways are there to get thrown out of a college football game? Here is a list of 10 assembled with the help of a conference supervisor of officials. He was curious about it just like me, sort of like: how many ways to score from third base without a hit?

In no particular order ...

 

  1. Targeting above the shoulder area. What used to be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty can now result in an ejection if an NCAA rules committee proposal goes through.
  2. Flagrant personal foul. Think of a gunner running into a punt returner who has called for a fair catch.
  3. Unsportsmanlike conduct regarding a verbal assault. Example: A racial blast from one player to another.
  4. Fighting. The ejection penalty for this one is most similar to the new proposal. If a player is flagged for fighting in the first half, he misses the rest of the game. If it happens in the second half, he misses the rest of that game plus the first half of the next game.
  5. Two unsportsmanlike fouls in the same game. This mimics the two-technical rule in basketball. You’re gone if you get two of them in one game. Language has been added to this rule to include an “unsporting foul.” In other words, let’s say the first penalty is for roughing the passer but the second foul is for throwing the ball into the stands after a touchdown. That’s an “unsporting foul” and gets you thrown out of the game. Remember, it’s two in one game. 
  6. Contact with an official. Needs no explanation.
  7. Use of tobacco products. That’s why you never see coaches or staff on the sidelines during a game with a chaw in their mouths. If you do, they aren’t hiding it well and those persons are subject to an ejection.
  8. Prohibited signal devices. In-helmet radios are allowed in the NFL. No, in college. If an enterprising staff was able to sneak one into the quarterback’s helmet for extra communication, that would be an ejection.
  9. Cleats more than a half-inch long.
  10. Unfair tactics. Call this one the “Three Stooges Rule.” No hiding the ball under your jersey. No funny stuff with duplicate jerseys. That kind of stuff.