So I'm watching Fresno State-Tulsa replay on CBS Sports right now since I didn't get to watch it last night. Tulsa just scored a touchdown and there was a facemask penalty at the very end on the 1 yard line in a last ditch attempt to stop the runner from getting across the goal line, and it was assessed on the kickoff.

Here's something I may have thought about before, but never really thought seriously about it until just now. Tulsa just kicked off from the 50 yard line, it was an automatic out of the end zone for a touchback kick, giving Fresno State the ball at the 25 yard line. What do you guys think, assessing penalties on the kickoff, are they REALLY punishing a team? Like what just happened in this game, Tulsa just booted it straight out of the end zone. The only way kicking off from the 50 would punish a team would be to squib kick it and trap them deep in their territory. So instead of the penalty mattering at all, Fresno State started their offense on the 25 yard line, business like usual.

They need to change the assessment of penalties. Instead of assessing them on the kickoff, basically making it an automatic touchback and not mattering at all in the end, they should assess it after the kickoff. Say it still ends up being a touchback, Fresno State would normally take over on the 25 yard line, but then you assess the 15 yard facemask penalty, they instead start on their 10 yard line. Make these penalties actually matter, instead of assessing them on the kickoff and then not matter a single damn bit because the ball just gets booted out for a touchback.

What do you guys think? Would it be better to assess the penalties after the kickoff instead of on the kickoff, to actually penalize the team that committed the penalty instead of making it essentially nothing more than a shell of a penalty?