Football College Overtime Rules The overtime rules in college football are unique to any other league.
Unlike the NFL, college overtime is not sudden death.
Many fans prefer the college overtime rules as opposed to the overtime system used by the NFL, as they believe that each team getting an opportunity to score is the fairest solution.
next we will explain the rules of college football overtime. We’ll cover the coin toss options, new rules, timeouts, strategy, and history.
The Coin Toss: After the end of the fourth period of regulation, the referees and team captains will gather for another coin toss.
The visiting team’s captain gets to call the coin toss.
The winner of the coin toss gets to choose between one of two options: 1. To play offense or defense. 2. Which end of the field is used for both overtime periods.
There is no defer option in college overtime. The losing team of the coin toss must choose the remaining option.
For example, if the winning team chooses to play offense, then the losing team will choose the side of the field.
The team who lost the original overtime coin toss will have the first choice of the two coin toss options every even-numbered overtime period (second overtime, fourth overtime, etc.). The coin toss winner will have this option in odd-numbered overtime periods (third overtime, fifth overtime, etc.).
First Overtime Period In : overtime, each drive will start at the opponent’s 25-yard line. Each team will have one possession to score a touchdown or field goal, hopefully not turning the ball over in the process.
The amount of time the possession takes does not matter as there is only a play clock and no game clock. The team who gets the ball second will then get one attempt to match or beat what their opponent accomplished. The drive can start on a hash mark or in between hash marks.
Second Overtime Period: If the score is tied after the first overtime period, they will each get an additional chance in the second overtime period to score on a drive starting from the 25-yard line. However, in second overtime periods, any team that scores a touchdown must also attempt a two-point conversion.
Third Overtime: Period Once the game reaches three overtimes, teams alternate being on offense attempting a 2-point conversion rather than starting a drive at the 25-yard line. Additional overtime periods can be played until a winner is determined.
Timeouts: In college overtime, each team gets one timeout per overtime period. They do not roll over to the next period. If a timeout is used in between overtime periods, it counts as a team’s only timeout in the next overtime period played.
Strategy: In college overtime, there are advantages and disadvantages to choosing offense or defense. Some teams like choosing defense first because they will know how much they will need to score once they are on offense. Others like playing offense first because scoring first will put pressure on the opponent’s offense to do the same.
History: The college football overtime rules currently in place were instituted in 1996 and are commonly known as the “Kansas Plan” due to the resolution of a tied Kansas high school football game.
However, there have been minor modifications since then in order to perfect the overtime model. The most recent changes were made in 2021 and center on the nature of various overtime periods if the game remains tied.
The record for the longest overtime game in history is nine overtime periods, which occurred in 2021 during a matchup between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Illinois Fighting Illini.
The previous record for longest overtime game in history was seven overtimes, which occurred on five separate occasions.
Summary of College Football Overtime Rules At the end of regulation, overtime begins if the score is tied. The coin toss is performed at the 50-yard line. The visiting team’s captain will call the coin flip heads or tails.
The winner of the coin toss chooses from two options; 1. offense or defense 2. Which side of the field to use for both possessions of the first overtime period.
Overtime consists of periods where each team gets a possession starting at the 25-yard line.
There are no kickoffs in college overtime. Teams get one timeout each overtime period that do not carry over. There is no game clock, only a play clock and possessions last until they score or a turnover is made.
Additional overtime periods are played if the score remains tied after both teams have a possession.
The new rule for college football (2021) requires teams to run a two-point conversion after touchdowns starting with the second overtime period.
During triple overtime, teams run two-point conversions only instead of starting at the 25-yard line for a normal offensive drive.