Can you tie in college football?

Unless you’ve had a lot of experience with college football, it is possible that you won’t know all the rules that are followed in this game. College football has some different rules and guidelines than high school football, which can cause you to be confused about some of the differences. So, can there be a tie in college football?

Unlike other college sports, football is one where the two teams are unable to tie. If the score is the same at the end of the fourth quarter, the game will go into an overtime period so one team can win the game. To avoid a tie, a game can go into a second overtime period.

There’s a lot of information that can be beneficial to learn before you decide to watch a college football game. Learning the various rules that exist in this game can allow you to be able to follow the plays and calls being made throughout the game. After looking into the rules of tying in a college football game, the following information has been compiled below to help you better understand the game.

What Happens When the Scores are Tied?

College football is one of the few sports that is unable to result in a tie. While it is possible that the two teams could have the same score at the end of the fourth quarter, this just means that the game is not yet over. In order for one team to be able to win the football game, there is an overtime period that is used in the instances where the two teams end the fourth quarter of the game with the same score.

In overtime, there is no specific game time. Instead, the play clock continually runs. Rather than following the normal plays and rules of a football game, there are different rules that come with overtime. Both teams take turns playing offense and defense until the score changes and one team is in the lead.

It is extremely important that the score in a college football game isn’t tied. It is possible for the game to go into a second overtime period if no points are earned in the first overtime period. However, during this second overtime, there are some additional rules that are in place to try and help one of the teams to earn points in order to change the score.

During the second overtime, each team has the chance to have the ball. This gives them the chance to score another touchdown, therefore allowing one team to win the game. There is a chance that the second team could score a touchdown. However, in this second overtime, it doesn’t run out when the clock stops. The teams are able to continue in this pattern of possessing the ball until one of the two teams is able to score. (reference)

What Happens After Second Overtime?

Before recent changes in the rules of college football were made, it was possible to go into multiple overtimes. This meant that the game wouldn’t end after the second overtime like it does now, but rather a game could go into overtime as many times as needed for the score to change.

This meant that college football games could have over five overtime periods within one game, which meant that the length of a college football game wasn’t really something that could be easily determined.

In current college football games, if the score is still tied, the second period of overtime will continue until the score changes and one team is able to be in the lead. This gives a college football team the chance to be able to win the game without having to spend too much time in overtime.

Changes in Overtime Policies

There was a time when a tie was possible in college football. However, many viewed a tie as an unfair result of a game, which is why there is now an overtime rule that allows one of the teams to be the winner. These changes make the game seem fairer overall. (reference)

There are so many different rules that are implemented during overtime that it can be extremely confusing for people who haven’t had the chance to memorize all of these rules. Struggling to understand all of these rules can make it difficult for you to know what exactly is happening when a game enters overtime.

It used to be possible for teams to go into multiple overtimes. However, this was changed in an attempt to shorten the length of college football games. Rather than being able to go into overtime as many times as needed, one team will have to score within the second overtime period in order for the game to end.

While many individuals enjoy these changes and feel as though they were made for the better, there are many individuals who do not think these changes were necessary.

Are College Football Overtime Rules Different than NFL Rules?

The rules of overtime are different in NFL games than they are in college football games. Some people think that the rules in college football make more sense than the overtime rules of NFL games. While the rules of these levels of football games are different, most fans of both of these levels of football games agree that overtime is not a bad thing. (reference)

Instead of believing that overtime is a bad thing, most fans believe that allowing teams to go into overtime as many times as needed until the teams are able to score is a good thing because it allows one team to win, which is important when it comes to playoffs and other important games. Many football fans wish that both college and NFL games would allow the teams to play as long as they needed in order to change the score.

Overall, college football games can’t end in a tie. The game will simply continue after it is supposed to end until one team scores and wins the game. Most college football fans enjoy games going into overtime because of the amount of tension there is until the game ends.