10:19 AM
04/26/24
04/26/24
October 27, 2011
More Helmets Flying in College Football: Through Oct. 15, 407 helmets had come off players in the Football Bowl Subdivision, another 406 in the Football Championship Subdivision and 339 in Division II. The cause may be players keeping their chinstraps extremely loose, and the NCAA Football Rules Committee may take action to reduce the frequency for safety reasons. "It drives me crazy," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
Could be that the straps start out tight enough and that all the trash talking and primal screaming after routine plays that didn't amount to much is loosening them up.
It's interesting how important it is for the players to fuss with their safety equipment. More than a few times, I've seen a QB take a wicked sack, and while they're slowly struggling to get back up, their top priority is usually to unbuckle their chin strap and tuck their mouth guard back up in the bars of their face mask.