Tag: college football overtime rules

College football overtime rules: How overtime works in the 2022 season

A breakdown of college football overtime rules, including (somewhat) recent updates.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Not much is simple when it comes to college football, and that includes overtime rules. So if you’re trying to figure them out for the first time or need a quick refresher, we’ve got you covered.

Long gone are the days when college football games could end in a tie, thankfully, since overtime became part of the regular season back in 1996. And the same is (generally) true for absurdly high numbers of overtime periods — though that’s not always the case.

Still, college football overtime rules can be confusing and challenging to remember, especially when the NCAA updates the rules, as it did in 2021.

We’ve outlined all this below, but the TL;DR version is: A coin toss to see who starts with the ball, both teams get possession and two-point conversions replace traditional drives in the third overtime.

Here are the basics

Per the NCAA:

  • When a game is tied at the end of regulation, there will be overtime. Duh.
  • Teams’ captains will meet at midfield for the overtime coin toss, and the winner of the coin toss can either choose to be on offense or defense first OR choose which end of the field overtime will be played in (and cannot defer). The team that loses the coin toss gets to pick the remaining option.
  • Each team gets one timeout for every overtime period, and unused timeouts from regulation or overtimes don’t carry over.

OK, now onto how this actually plays out on the field

  • Each team gets the ball for a series for the first overtime period, as well as a second one if it’s necessary. Equal chances to score, unlike the NFL.
  • The team on offense starts at the 25-yard line, and it can choose where to start on or between the hash marks.
  • The possession ends either with a score, a failure to get a first down or a turnover, and then the other team gets the ball for a chance to win or score and tie.
  • If the first overtime period also ends in a tie, a second one is played.

How college football overtime rules changed in 2021

For a second overtime period, all the rules from the first overtime period remain the same, except if a touchdown is scored.

  • New in 2021, if a team scores a touchdown in the second overtime, it has to run a two-point conversion afterward instead of kicking for the extra point. Previously, the two-point attempt was required only after the third overtime.
  • Also, now if the game is forced into a third overtime, possessions starting at the 25-yard line are scrapped. Instead, teams have to run alternating two-point conversion plays, which was previously a requirement in a fifth overtime.

And there you have it. These rules apply to both overtimes in the regular season as well as the postseason.

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College football fans react to the absurd overtime rules that led to Alabama’s Iron Bowl win

The new college football overtime rules aren’t very popular on the internet.

Saturday’s Iron Bowl matchup between the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium was the first time the series has gone to overtime since the FBS instituted it for tied games at the end of regulation in 1996.

And in 2021, that means that college football fans were treated (subjected?) to the absolutely ridiculous new overtime rules that were implemented this year in a 24-22 ‘Bama win.

Beginning in the second overtime, teams now have to go for the two-point conversion instead of alternating possessions from the 25-yard line and being forced to go for two beginning in the third overtime period, as had been the case until this year. And starting in the third overtime period, teams alternate solely two-point conversion attempts from the three-yard line.

This means that each overtime period only lasts two plays, and that can result in the debacle we saw when Illinois beat Penn State earlier this year, 20-18, in the ninth overtime.

This game’s result wasn’t quite as absurd as the Big Ten one, as SEC West champion Alabama captured the win in quadruple overtime. But with what could prove to be one of the most important outcomes of the season being decided by what is the college football equivalent of penalty kicks, some fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on college football’s latest time-saving technique.

CFB could have new overtime rules for 2021 season

The NCAA Football Rules Committee recommended changes to overtime play in a meeting on Friday. Details here.

College football’s overtime rules may be changing.

Per the NCAA, the NCAA Football Rules Committee recommended changes to overtime play in a meeting on Friday. The committee recommended the following changes for the 2021 season:

  • Starting with the second overtime period, teams must attempt a two-point conversion play after a touchdown.
  • If the game reaches a third overtime period, teams will alternate two-point conversion attempts

Traditionally, teams alternate possessions from the opponent’s 25-yard-line, a rule that has been in affect since 1996, and after two overtime periods, are forced to attempt two-point conversions after touchdowns.

The NCAA says the new rule proposal is meant to limit the number of plays from scrimmage and bring the game to a conclusion.

The new propositions will be discussed during a meeting on April 22 by NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel.

Whether or not the rules will be put in affect next season is up in the air, but I like the new proposal. Don’t get me wrong, of course I love a good six overtime game just as much as anyone, but I would love to see teams alternate two-point conversions and watch the pressure that situation would create.

We’ll keep you updated here on what the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Pane decides on April 22.