By Will Vandervort.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference will change a few things up when it comes to officiating this season.

According to the Charleston Post &Courier the ACC will experiment with an eighth official, will protect the quarterbacks a little more and has changed the targeting rule.

The ACC coaches voted unanimously to add an eighth official for league games. The Big XII adopted the addition last year and he had great success. The SEC has also decided to use an eighth official in league games for 2014.

The new judge called “the center judge” will help spot the ball, mark off penalties and generally take responsibilities away from the referee and the umpire. He will line up just behind the offensive backfield, offset to the side. For teams with left-handed quarterbacks the referee and center judge will swap positions.

As for protecting the quarterback, the ACC will not allow defenders to hit them below the knees.  Coordinator of ACC Officials Doug Rhoads said Monday morning from the Grandover Resort in Greensboro that the ACC and the NCAA will protect quarterbacks similar to the way the NFL does.

The language of the new rule says.

“A passer must have two things: he must be in a passing posture, and he must have one or both feet on the ground.” Note: Rhoads specified a halfback or wide receiver throwing the football counts as a passer.

“The (defender’s) contact must be knee or below, it must be forceful contact, he must be unabated going to the passer, and he can’t have been pushed into the passer.”

The new low-hit fouls are non-reviewable. “Pure judgment,” Rhoads said.

As for the new targeting rule, when a targeting flag is reviewed on video replay and it is overturned, not only is the flag player reinstated, but the 15-yard penalty is erased as well.

Rhoads said a lot of people wanted to make sure they got this rule right this time around. Last year, there was a lot of controversy involving this rule.