The NCAA issued a one-time, blanket waiver on Friday that exempts bowl games from counting toward the four-game redshirt rule in college football, according to multiple reports. The waiver went into effect on Thursday, and will apply to all FBS bowl games beginning with Friday's Bahamas Bowl and Cure Bowl.
The rule comes during an interesting era in college football where the transfer portal and players opting out of bowl games in order to prepare for the NFL has chipped away at roster size and depth. Those issues have continued to make life very difficult for players and coaches to get ready for their postseason matchups.
It's unclear if this one-time waiver will become permanent after this bowl season, but the influx of players in the portal and sitting out makes it seem likely that this will continue. If the waiver is adopted on a full-time basis, it would essentially transform postseason bowl games into a jumping off point for the upcoming season. Coaches would have the opportunity to get a glimpse of how some younger players could fit into their plan, allow those players to get much-needed reps and give coaches a good idea of how to navigate the transfer portal until it closes in mid-January.
