The World Cup shares similarities with SEC football − passionate, provincial fan bases, coaching sideline meltdowns and pregame tailgate shopping at Walmart.
But imagine if college football went a step further and adopted some of FIFA’s rules.
A targeting penalty is already a blow for a college football team, especially if it results in a standout player being ejected for the remainder of the game. But what if, like a red card in soccer, a college football team was forced to play down a player on defense from the point of the foul to the remainder of the game.
Playing 10-v-11 on defense would have been a scheme even hard for future Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Belichick to draw up. It only seemed like Belichick was playing 10-on-11 in his first season as North Carolina football coach in 2025. But no, UNC played 11 on defense the entire year, despite allowing 48 points to TCU and 42 points to rival N.C. State.
It certainly would have made the CFP semifinal Fiesta Bowl between Ole Miss and Miami more interesting. Miami cornerback Xavier Lucas was ejected with a shade under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter for a questionable targeting call on a collision with Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee. Had Ole Miss played 11-on-10 against Miami’s defense the rest of the way, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss would have probably led the Rebels to a comeback win.
The postgame press conference with Miami coach Mario Cristobal would have been … well … interesting. Miami fans in attendance may have burned down Scottsdale in protest.
Those red card controversies existed both in the U.S. Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and England’s Round of 16 win over Mexico. Both U.S. and England were forced to play a man down for most of the second half, and both prevailed. It’s a credit not only to the skill and endurance of the players from both countries, but the coaching staffs for devising 10-on-11 schemes that work well enough to maintain leads. U.S. and England even found ways to score shorthanded, with each team notching a goal with a man down.
Stoppage time controversies
Think of a college football game being decided on the whim of a head referee with a whistle.
College football games are timed on a scoreboard fans can see in the stadium or follow on TV. The clock stops for interceptions, incomplete passes, scores and time outs.
In FIFA there is a running clock of 45 minutes for each half, with the added mystery of “stoppage time.” That includes time lost during the running clock due to injuries, goal celebrations, substitutions, video reviews and hydration breaks. It can be as low as 2-3 minutes or as high as 10-11 minutes, depending on referee calculations.
It takes away the drama and strategy of playing to the clock that’s associated with football, men’s basketball and hockey. On the flip side, soccer players are less apt to stall.
The continuous clock also eliminates the gamesmanship football players feigning cramps and other injuries to stop play against high tempo offenses. In soccer, play only stops if it’s a severe injury or head injury. Otherwise play continues until the ball goes out of bounds and the player gets subbed out.
The other issue is the game rarely ends exactly when stoppage time expires, especially if a soccer team is on an attack. Refs will usually allow extra time to let an attack play out. England’s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, was furious about this as the refs allowed corner kick after corner kick for Mexico beyond the 11-minute stoppage time estimation until Pickford punched out a corner kick at a shape over 12 minutes past the end of the half.
Imagine a scenario in Atlanta next fall where Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton leads the Bulldogs on a drive in the final possession and the clock winding down with Florida clinging to a 26-20 lead. On third down, Stockton connects with Isaiah Canion on a pass and is tackled at the one-yard line by Myles Graham as stoppage time expires.
Or does it? With stoppage time no one knows. The ref could simply decide to let the possession play itself out, even if the scoreboard says the five minutes of stoppage time had run off the clock.
Think SEC refs face scrutiny from fanbases and the league now? Stoppage time would add a whole new level of angst for fanbases who felt jobbed by officials granting additional time to let a team play out a scoring possession.
To sum up, football rules are best left to football, while futbol rules are best left to soccer. Ribs trump bangers and mash at a tailgate every time. The pageantry of the World Cup may rival SEC Saturdays, but mixing up the rules is an idea best left on the cutting floor.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Red card for targeting? What if college football adopted World Cup rules
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
