The National Football League (NFL) and college football are similar in some ways and different in others. They both have important rules about the game ball, with the NFL team, the Patriots, even being a part of a whole scandal known as Deflategate. This scandal came following a championship game where the Patriots were accused of using deflated balls in order to win.
They were found guilty, and star quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for four games. Although this scandal occurred only in the NFL, it shows how much football referees care about the game ball and can be seen as an early introduction to how strictly they enforce all rules.
Both NFL and college football referees take their jobs very seriously, although each league has different rules that can make game days confusing for some fans. If an NFL fan decides to turn on a Saturday game, they may be thrown off by the pass interference calls or overtime regulations. A college football fan may try to watch their favorite NFL team on Sunday, only to be incredibly lost at the kickoff. Both leagues carry their own rules, and although this article wasn’t written by a referee, a few of the big ones are outlined below.
THE NFL SEASON
The NFL season starts with the preseason, a three-week period where teams participate in exhibitions leading up to their openers. Then, these teams trim their rosters before the 18-game season begins.
The 18-game season includes one bye week, a period of time where the team gets a break from competition and can focus solely on practicing. After the regular season, the playoffs take the best teams and pit them against each other.
After the playoffs comes the divisional round, which pits the final four teams against each other. These games are followed by the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The season concludes with the Super Bowl in February, which, if you don’t watch for football, then you may watch for the halftime show, set to be performed by Bad Bunny this upcoming February.
The college football season varies per conference, but in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), it’s decided through a 12-team playoff following the regular season. In the regular season, a team will play 12 games: eight conference and the rest non-conference.
The teams with the best record then advance to the ACC Championship, which is set to be played on Dec. 6 this year.
OVERTIME
Overtime is one of the biggest differences between the NFL and college football. NFL overtime begins with a coin toss, as does college football, although this is where the similarities end. The game clock will be set to 10 minutes, and each team must have the opportunity to possess the ball.
If the team that started overtime by kicking off then scores a safety (meaning a two-point play awarded to the defense when the offense is tackled or fumbles the ball in their own end zone) on the receiving team’s initial possession, they win the game.
That’s a rare sight, so normally, NFL overtime ends after each team has had an opportunity to possess the ball and one team has more points. If the score doesn’t change, the game will end as a tie.
In college football, after the coin toss, whichever team is on offense gets possession at the 25-yard line closest to their end zone. They get four downs to run the ball before the opponent starts at the 25-yard line nearest the other end zone. If either team takes the lead during the first overtime, that team will win the game.
If both teams are still tied after each has had a chance to run the ball, a second overtime ensues, and each team has to follow the same rules. If they’re still tied following this overtime, a third one begins.
The third overtime is where the rules change, with teams alternating 2-point conversion attempts instead of starting at the 25-yard lines. A 2-point conversion is when a team attempts to run the ball after scoring a touchdown instead of opting for a field goal. The first team to score two points in the game wins, preventing college football from ending in a tie.
KICKOFFS
Kickoffs are another major difference between the two leagues, especially since the NFL instituted the dynamic kickoff rule to give the receiving team a chance to make a long kickoff return. The ball is kicked from the 35-yard line, and the kicker’s team will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. The kicker’s team can’t start moving until the ball hits the ground or a player.
The landing zone is the area between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line. If a kick is short of this landing zone, the play is dead as soon as the kick lands. If a kick lands in the zone, it must be returned, meaning the opposing team must catch or pick up the ball and attempt to advance upfield.
If a kick bounces out of the landing zone and into the end zone, it can be returned or downed. Similarly, if it lands in the end zone and stays inbounds, it can also be returned or downed.
In college football, the only difference is with the kicker’s team. The moment the ball is kicked, their players can start running down the field. They start on the same 35-yard line, with the same landing zone and rules about the ball hitting the ground. Players can start running before the ball has even reached a player.
PASSES
When a player is set to receive a ball, the rules of footing are slightly different for college and the NFL. In college, a receiver only needs one foot inbound to catch the ball, while in the NFL, they need two feet inbounds for it to be legal.
Pass interference also has differences between the two, with the penalty in college being 15 yards and an automatic first down. The penalty in the NFL is a sports foul, where the ball is moved to where the foul occurred, and an automatic first down.
College football and the NFL have many similarities, like game plays and basic rules, but they also vary incredibly. Many people who grew up following college football and then pick an NFL team to root for may get confused trying to follow every call. But once you have the gist of both leagues, football can be very entertaining.
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