The rule differences between college football and NFL can be tricky for new football fans. Even those who’ve watched the sport for years are often confused about them. Let’s explore them in this article, so you know what to expect.
Receptions in or out of Bounds
When a receiver is attempting to catch a pass near one of the field boundaries (either the sideline or the end line at the back of the end zone), the rules differ between college and pro football. In the NCAAF, the receiver has to have possession of the ball and touch at least one foot in the field of play. It’s OK if the second foot touches down out of the field of play if the first foot is in.
In the NFL, the receiver must have both feet down inbounds to make it a legal catch. That’s obviously a much more difficult thing to pull off. Luckily, the skill level of NFL receivers is extremely high, which is why you’ll see so many toe-taps and toe-drags creating incredible receptions. In terms of its impact on the game, this might be the single biggest difference between NFL and college rules.
Pass Interference Penalties
Both the NFL and college football include the defensive pass interference penalty, which takes place when a defender interferes in some way with a receiver trying to make a catch (hitting the player before the ball arrives is the most common cause of pass interference.) However, the size of the penalties is different, and that can make a huge impact on the game.
In college football, the interference penalty is a maximum of 15 yards (it can be smaller if the offensive team is close to the goal line.) However, in the NFL, the penalty is a spot foul, meaning the ball is placed where the foul is committed. That means the penalty can be much longer than 15 yards if it’s a particularly long pass (if the penalty takes place in the end zone, the ball is placed at the 1-yard line.)
NFL quarterbacks often throw the deep pass in part because they know how beneficial a pass interference call on the opponent can be. In fact, some folks believe that the college rule is better because the NFL’s rule feel is too damaging to the defense, especially because it’s a very tough call for an official to get right.
Overtime Rules
This is an especially important rule if you place football bets at the best reviewed sports betting sites. The overtime rules for both the NFL and college football have changed pretty drastically in recent times, so you might want to read closely if you haven’t checked in for a while.
In college football, two teams that are tied in regulation will have trade off opportunities to score from the opposing 25-yard line to start. If both are tied after the first overtime period, they’ll do it again. In that second overtime period, any team that scores a touchdown must go for a two-point conversion.
If the teams are tied after two overtimes, the remaining overtimes will be played with both teams alternating two-point conversion attempts. The team that first manages to convert the two-pointer and stops the other team on their try wins.
In the NFL, an overtime period is set for ten minutes. It begins with a kickoff, and the team that receives the kickoff wins the game if they score a touchdown on their first overtime possession. If they kick a field goal, the other team will have a chance to either keep the game going with their own field goal or win it with a touchdown on their first overtime possession.
If the team that receives the overtime kickoff fails to score, or if both teams kick field goals on their first OT possessions, the game becomes “sudden death,” meaning that the next score wins. Finally, if the overtime period runs out with the score still even, the game is declared a tie.
Other Key Rules Differences Between the NFL and College Football
Here are the smaller rule differences between pro and college football that you should know:
- In the NFL, a player with the ball generally has to be touched by a defender to be considered down. In college football, a player is down the moment their knee is down, even if they haven’t been touched.
- In college football, the clock stops when first downs are made in the last two minutes of either half. That doesn’t happen in the NFL.
- In the NFL, there is a two-minute warning that automatically stops the clock at the end of each half. There is no two-minute warning in college football.
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