Important college football rule changes for 2024 season

With Big 12 Media Days behind us, we've entered that tough stretch of the college sports calendar where all there is to do is look forward to the coming football season. It's a tough time of the year for sure.

This month, Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech football coaching staff are taking some time away before moving into their new offices in the newly constructed south endzone facility. Then, in early August, fall camp kicks off and the real countdown to the season will begin.

While the news might be coming slowly in mid-July, it is the perfect time for fans to look at some of the new rules that will impact the game this fall. As you will see, the game is moving forward with some technological advances that will truly alter Saturdays for the foreseeable future.

In-helmet speakers are now allowed

For years, college football teams have had to go to great lengths to disguise the signals that the coaching staff sends in from the sidelines. Almost every program uses decoy signals from a graduate assistant or assistant coach while many programs use coded boards that the players can see. Other programs have even gone so far as to put up collapsable partitions that block the opposing coaches in the press box from seeing what is being signaled from the sidelines.

The one-way in-helmet communication will cut off when the play clock hits 15 seconds or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first. This rule was actually tested in some bowl games last fall including Texas Tech's Independence Bowl appearance against Cal. Thus, the Red Raiders already have a feel for how to utilize this new system.

The two-minute warning is coming to the college game

For decades, the two-minute warning has been in place in the NFL as a way to squeeze more commercial breaks into the game. Now, that feature is coming to the NCAA.

These breaks will come in the second and fourth quarters. They will also trigger the final two-minute timing rules during which the clock stops after a first down and ten-second runoffs can be imposed following pre-snap penalties when the clock is running.

Horse-collar tackle fouls expanded

This year, the NCAA is expanding its horse-collar tackle rules. Previously, such tackles were allowed to legally take place when the ball carrier was inside the tackle box.

Now, however, horse-collar tackles are illegal everywhere on the field and will result in a 15-yard penalty. This is an important change for the sake of player safety.

Collaborative replays now available for all conferences

Tired of seeing the head referee jog down the field and look at a tiny monitor to determine the outcome of a replay by himself? Well, that isn't going away but now, conferences can officially use a collaborative replay system.

Formerly an experimental rule, each conference can now set up a system where off-site officials can help review plays and help the lead official make a call. How each conference decides to implement this procedure is up to each league.