FOOTBALL; Rulemaker's take standpat stance

With an improved safety record and attendance at a record high, college football figures it had better leave well enough alone. The game you see next fall will be virtually the same one you saw in 1980, with only minor alterations.

One of these, drawn up by the NCAA's Rules Committee, will protect the trailing back on the quarterback option play from below-the-waist hits. Another will restrict the legal strategies used in attempting to block kicks (defensive players cannot jump or stand on a teammate or opponent; place a hand on a teammate to get leverage for additional height; or be picked up by a teammate).

Coaches who question the application of any rule will now have the right to ask for a sideline conference with the referee. If the coach is wrong, his team will be charged a timeout or a delay-of-game penalty.

The requirement that players on the line of scrimmage in kicking formations comply with the 50-to-79 numbering requirement has been scrapped. As a result, the practice of donning sloppy-looking dickeys with conforming numerals will go by the boards as well. Tear-away jerseys bite the dust beginning in 1982.