College football news: How the SEC plans to combat fake injuries this year

Hint: It doesn't

In recent years, faking injuries in order to slow down games has been the subject of significant debate around college football.

But anyone who was hoping the SEC would take action will be disappointed.

Asked about how the conference plans to combat players allegedly faking injuries to slow the game, SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid says there isn't a practical solution to the problem.

"Not an issue that can be addressed"

“We’ve spent at least four consecutive offseasons collectively thinking about how can the playing rules be modified to combat the feigning of injuries,” McDaid said at SEC Media Days.

“And I’ve convinced myself now that if there’s an equitable way and a way that doesn’t overly detract from the game, we would have come up with it by now.

“That’s another way of saying that I’ve convinced myself that this is not an issue that can be addressed through the playing rules. It will have to be addressed a different way.

“I’ll also say this, officials are not trained medical professionals. I don’t ask my officials in any way shape or form to evaluate, ‘Is this a legitimate injury or not?’ 

“If we have a player down, not ready to participate in the next play, we need to stop the game for an official’s injury timeout and stop the game going forward.”

Fake injuries have become a hot-button issue in college football as offenses embrace a faster and more aggressive pace.

Defensive players can effectively control the rhythm of the game and throw their opponents off schedule by stopping everything and taking a knee.

NCAA rules on fake injuries in college football

Decision makers inside the NCAA have come to largely the same conclusion as the SEC.

Tasked with finding a solution to fake injuries, the NCAA football rules committee said it could not come up with a definitive rule to judge and forbid the practice.

Stanford coach David Shaw is the current NCAA football rules committee chairman.

"It is very difficult to legislate ethics, particularly when an injury timeout is being used to gain an advantage," Shaw said in a statement this offseason. 

"The small number of teams that seem to use these tactics should be addressed directly.

"We considered all options to address this issue, including allowing both teams an opportunity to substitute after a first down," Shaw added. "This is another step to consider in the future."

In addition to the ethical concern, the NCAA noted that if a player is legitimately hurt, he could be incentivized to remain on the field and risk more injury.

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