College Football Is Changing in 2026. Here's What It Means for TCU

College football will look mostly the same when the TCU Horned Frogs take the field this fall. There will still be oblong-shaped balls that players attempt to carry across the goal line; 100-yard fields that consist of the most beautiful grass (or turf) you’ve ever seen; and more replay reviews than anyone sitting inside Amon G. Carter Stadium would probably prefer.

But tucked underneath the larger changes that have consumed the sport over the last several years — the transfer portal, NIL, revenue sharing, conference realignment and an ever-expanding College Football Playoff — are a handful of actual changes to the rules of the game that could become important at some point during the 2026 season.

None more so than the NCAA’s latest attempt to fix targeting.

The NCAA Targeting Rules Gets a Major Change in 2026

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Caleb Goodie (10) is tackled by the TCU Horned Frogs defense during the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Few rules in college football have generated more frustration than targeting, not necessarily because of the rule’s purpose — player safety is a good thing — but because of just how punitive and stringent it can be.

Football is played by enormous, incredibly fast athletes who make decisions in fractions of a second. There is an obvious need to protect players from dangerous hits, particularly those involving the head and neck, but there has always been a massive difference between a defender intentionally launching himself at an opponent’s head and incidental helmet contact that occurs when two players suddenly change direction.

Until now, the punishment hasn’t really cared about that difference.

Well, until 2026. Sort of.

Under an experimental rule approved for this season, a player whose targeting foul is upheld will still be disqualified from the current game. The major distinction is what happens afterward: A targeting foul committed in the second half will no longer automatically force the player to miss the first half of his team’s next contest.

Instead, the NCAA is introducing a progressive punishment system for repeat offenders. A player’s second targeting foul of the season will result in his disqualification from that game and the first half of his team’s next game. A third — or any subsequent targeting foul — will result in disqualification and an automatic one-game suspension. Conferences will also have an avenue to seek additional review from the national coordinator of football officials for those repeat offenses, potentially allowing the ensuing suspension to be vacated entirely.

It is not a complete overhaul, though it is a start. There still isn’t a “Targeting 1” and “Targeting 2” system — like basketball has with flagrant fouls — separating incidental contact from the truly egregious and malicious hits that everyone agrees should result in an ejection.

Still, this feels like a meaningful step in the right direction.

For TCU — or any team with aspirations of playing meaningful football in November and December — eliminating the automatic carryover for a first targeting foul is significant. A questionable hit late in one game can no longer automatically screw that team and player over in the next one.

More Chances for Sonny Dykes to Throw the Challenge Flag

Jul 8, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; TCU head coach Sonny Dykes speaks to reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Well, there technically won’t be any official throwing of the “challenge flag,” but coaches, Sonny Dykes included, will have more opportunities to ask referees to take one more look at calls they disagreed with.

Head coaches now receive two replay challenges per game rather than the usual one. If a coach wins at least one of those first two challenges, he receives a third. “It’s like a reward,” everybody familiar with Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film, Django Unchained, said. Coaches still need an available timeout to challenge a play, and a successful challenge will not cost the team that timeout.

Other College Football Rule Changes TCU Fans Should Know

There are a handful of other changes that might garner some attention, though not nearly as much as the previous two. Offensive pass interference will now result in a 10-yard penalty instead of 15. Additionally, the NCAA also cleaned up the rules surrounding scrimmage-kick formations, more clearly defining which players are considered ineligible receivers when teams use unusual numbering along the offensive line.

There are also changes coming to the play clock and unsportsmanlike conduct rules. After a replay review inside the two-minute timeout, the play clock will generally pick up where it stopped rather than automatically resetting to 25 seconds, with anything below 10 seconds being reset to 10.

Officials are also being given more discretion on celebrations and unsportsmanlike conduct, although actions such as weapon gestures, throat slashes, nose wipes, removing a helmet after a play and obvious dead-ball contact will remain automatic fouls.

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