The days of faking an injury to slow down an opposing offense are over—at least in college football. With the 2025 season just nine days away, the NCAA has announced new rules designed to put an end to one of the sport’s most controversial tactics: players intentionally going down to stop the play clock.
Why the Rule Change Was Needed
For years, fans, coaches, and analysts have debated the ethics of feigning injury to stall the game. While technically not illegal under past rules, the practice has been viewed as gamesmanship that crosses the line into unsportsmanlike conduct.
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit famously voiced his frustration during the Oklahoma–Tennessee matchup in 2024:
“It drives me crazy. They look over after a big play, and all of a sudden, he just goes down. It’s not necessarily against the rules, but it’s unethical as hell.”
The tactic is most commonly used against high-tempo offenses that thrive on quick snaps and defensive confusion. By faking an injury, a defense can get an unofficial timeout, disrupt the offensive rhythm, and buy time for substitutions—all without burning one of their own timeouts.
The New Rule in Detail
Starting this season, the NCAA will enforce strict consequences for any team whose player goes down after the ball is spotted and medical personnel enter the field:
If the team has a timeout left: They will be charged one immediately.
If the team has no timeouts left: A five-yard delay of game penalty will be assessed.
Additionally, any injured player must sit out at least one play, regardless of whether a timeout is taken. They cannot return to the game until cleared by the team’s medical staff.
Kirby Smart, Georgia’s head coach and co-chair of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, explained the reasoning:
“The committee identified the time period after the ball has been spotted as the most egregious violations of the injury timeout rule. Having a set time frame of when the game is stopped for an injured player should hopefully help curtail the strategy of having players fake injuries.”
Protecting the Integrity of the Game
The NCAA’s Football Rules Committee made eliminating fake injuries an offseason priority, citing the damage it does to the sport’s reputation. Even though statistics on how often it occurs don’t exist, enough high-profile incidents—like the one Herbstreit called out—have drawn public criticism.
By directly tying a timeout or penalty to injury stoppages, the NCAA is signaling that they value both player safety and competitive fairness. Genuine injuries will still be handled with care, but the gray area between real and fake will now come with a clear cost.
Other New Rules for 2025
This isn’t the only change fans will notice this fall:
Overtime adjustments: Teams will now have fewer timeouts in overtime to speed up the conclusion of games.
Defensive trickery crackdown: New penalties target defenses simulating a snap or fielding 12 men to intentionally stop the clock.
The Bottom Line
College football thrives on intensity, unpredictability, and fair competition. The new fake-injury rule aims to protect those values while removing a loophole that was increasingly being exploited.
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