The USFL will return this weekend, and the league is touting its rulebook as a step forward from the rules fans are accustomed to.
This year USFL kickoffs will be from the 20-yard line, meaning that touchbacks will become virtually nonexistent. Last year USFL kickoffs were from the 25-yard line and 81 percent of kickoffs were returned, but with kickoffs at the 20 the number of kickoff returns will only go up.
The USFL has also announced that it has implemented the emergency quarterback rule that the NFL is considering bringing back this year. Teams will have three quarterbacks active for each game, but if the designated third quarterback enters the game before the fourth quarter, the first two quarterbacks can’t return to the game.
Like the XFL, the USFL has changed the rule on ball carriers fumbling into the end zone. When a ball carrier fumbles into the end zone and goes out of bounds, the ball will return to the offense at the spot of the fumble.
The USFL does allow onside kicks, but it also allows the kicking team to line up on offense from its own 33-yard line, facing fourth-and-12. If the offense converts, it keeps the ball. This is similar to onside kick alternatives that have been discussed in the NFL but have so far not been adopted.
USFL overtime consists of a two-point conversion shootout, with each team’s offense getting three attempts at a two-point conversion against the opposing team’s defense, and the team that scores more two-point conversions in those three attempts wins. If it is still tied after three attempts each, the teams will alternate two-point conversion attempts until one team makes it and the other team doesn’t.
USFL extra points are like the NFL’s in that one point is scored on a kick snapped from the 15-yard line, or two points from the 2-yard line. But the USFL also allows teams to go for three from the 10-yard line.
The USFL allows offenses to throw two forward passes on a play, although both passes must be behind the line of scrimmage.
USFL instant replay is streamlined with the command center (headed by Mike Pereira) in communication with the referee to correct calls without needing to be challenged, although coaches can still challenge one call per game if they think the command center missed something.
Pass interference in the USFL is capped at a 15-yard penalty on the defense unless the command center rules that a defender intentionally tackled a receiver more than 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, in which case it is a spot foul. Offensive pass interference and illegal player downfield penalties are not called if a pass does not cross the line of scrimmage.
The USFL will have two games two games Saturday and two games Sunday as well, football fans can watch up to eight games this weekend.
