One of the more controversial areas of college football has seen a dramatic dropoff in penalties this season through the first 7 weeks as compared to last year.

The number of enforced targeting penalties is down 32 percent in FBS games compared with the same time period of the 2018 season, the NCAA said this week, according to the Associated Press. Targeting is defined by the act of striking a defenseless opponent above the shoulders or using the crown of the helmet to contact an opponent, is often at issue in many college football games, and fans are often confused about or disagree with the calls.

Video review officials are now required to overturn targeting calls if any element of the penalty cannot be confirmed. Previously, video review officials could let the call on the field stand. Redding said about 11 percent of reviews resulted in “stands” in 2018.

The numbers lay out like this:

2019:

  • Targeting penalties: 132
  • Enforced: 83
  • Overturned on review: 49

2018:

  • Targeting penalties: 171
  • Enforced: 122
  • Overturned on review: 49

“It is hard to know how precisely to attribute the decline, but it is a significant drop,” national coordinator of football officials Rogers Redding said.

Redding added that there are three possible factors: players using better tackling technique, the removal of “stands as called on the field” as a review option and the threat of a one-game suspension for 3 targeting fouls in the same season.

“The main reason is that coaches and players have responded,” Redding said. “We anecdotally see player behavior changing, although we can’t prove it. This is difficult to quantify, but it comes from several (officials) coordinators and me, based on years of experience with this rule.”