With all the preseason magazines lining your local supermarket shelves, we have an idea of what to expect from college football teams.
But then there's college football itself.
Each year, it seems, we're taken a little off guard by rules changes.
So let's, well, change that. I placed a call to Big 12 supervisor of football officials Walt Anderson, who has now been in charge of the league's zebras for 11 years.
"There are probably two changes this year that will get the most attention," he said.
Both, as one might imagine, concern player safety.
First, there's a tweak to the targeting rule.
"If there is a play that is clearly, obviously targeting, and the officials on the field completely miss it, the instant replay official can now stop the game and review it for targeting," Anderson said.
Makes sense, yes?
"From the safety standpoint, because there's been so much emphasis on concussions and head hits, the institution of the targeting rule has been the biggest rules change - and that's been in five years now," Anderson said. "It's made the most dramatic impact to the game. It's certainly changed the way players are approaching the game."
Some targeting calls, of course, are clear cut. Others, it would seem, are tough to discern.
"They can be," Anderson said. "Part of the reason it hasn't been as tough as it could be is players have made an effort - and coaches are doing a good job coaching it - to change the way they are attacking. There's been development of what's called 'high-risk' and 'low-risk' indicators. It's a coaching technique.
"[Players] want to avoid the 'high-risk' indicators because they put you at risk of targeting. 'Low-risk' indicators help you avoid it. It's helped because there are far less incidents of clear, obvious targeting, the head-hunting. It hasn't been totally eliminated, but you just don't see the style of going at the head. You just don't do that because the consequence of the penalty is so severe."
(As an aside, I mentioned Don Nehlen's idea to Anderson: eliminate the face mask.
"Coach Nehlen is probably right about that," Anderson said. "I've had a number of people with different roles in the game actually suggest that. The problem is there are too many lawyers that would have a field day with that. One broken nose and everybody would be in court.")
The other change? It's a little more technical, but, again, centers on player safety.
"It's further modification of the low-block rule," Anderson said. "In essence they've eliminated some more low-blocking areas. We keep going further and further down the path toward having no low blocking."
OK, I hear you. Don't treat you like children. You can handle technicalities.
Fine. Here ya go.
"In the past, tight ends could cut-block low, back toward the inside," Anderson said. "The essence of the rule change this year eliminates the tight end from being able to do that.
"The old low-block rule involved a box, if you will, that went from tight end to tight end. This year, they've moved it back to the tackle box, which is relative to intentional grounding and things like that. Now it's just tackle to tackle where you can block low. Then once the ball leaves that area, pretty much everybody is prohibited from blocking low from the side of a player. You have to end up blocking low from what they call the 10-and-2 position, which is from the front.
"There will be a lot of teams that will have to make adjustments for their tight ends. Very often, as an example, you run those stretch option-type plays to one side. Well, the back-side tight end will oftentimes be cutting down. They won't be able to do that any longer."
Got it? If not, you can Google it - just like coaches will probably be able to do in 2017.
"One thing they've been toying with are the technology rules, but they've sort of tabled those for the 2017 season," Anderson said. "That's the use of things like iPads, computers, the electronic stuff relative to coaching purposes.
"So much of that has been opened up on different levels, but the NCAA is going to study it next year and possibly come up with something for 2017."
When, no doubt, we'll see more rules changes in the name of safety.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.