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NCAA approves trial rule reducing punishment for first targeting penalty

Jacorey Thomas (20) hits Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee, causing his mouthpiece to come out, as fellow Georgia defensive back Daylen Everette tackles from below during the College Football Playoff's Sugar Bowl quarterfinal on Jan. 1 in New Orleans. Thomas was flagged for targeting on the play and ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) Jacorey Thomas (20) hits Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee, causing his mouthpiece to come out, as fellow Georgia defensive back Daylen Everette tackles from below during the College Football Playoff's Sugar Bowl quarterfinal on Jan. 1 in New Orleans. Thomas was flagged for targeting on the play and ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

By The Associated Press March 19, 2026 2 min read

For at least one season, a targeting penalty will no longer automatically take a player off the field for the following game.

The NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee approved a one-year trial rule Thursday that gives a player a break for his first targeting penalty.

For the 2026 season, a player disqualified for targeting for the first time in the season may participate in the following game. The trial rule will apply regardless of which half the targeting penalty is called.

A player who draws his second targeting penalty of the season will be required to miss the first half of the next game. A player who draws his third targeting of the season must sit out the full following game.

No players were disqualified for targeting three times in the 2025 season.