What Is Football Overtime?

Football overtime is a period of extended play that takes place as a result of a tie score at the end of regulation play. Overtime rules differ by the level of the game, such as high school, college and professional. High school and college overtime is designed to continue until an eventual winner is determined, but the professional overtime is not.

College

In American college football, a coin toss takes place prior to overtime to determine which team will get first possession of the ball. The coin-toss losing team is allowed to select the end of the field on which overtime will take place. Possession is then given to the coin-toss winner at the opponent’s 25-yard line. The team with possession of the ball is given four downs to gain a first down or score a field goal or touchdown. In the event of a touchdown, an extra point kick or two-point conversion is attempted. The offensive team’s possession ends when it scores, fails to score or fails to gain a first down. The defense is allowed to score on fumble recoveries and intercepted passes. Once a team’s possession ends, the other team takes over and attempts to match or exceed the results of the opposing team’s offensive possession. If, at the end of each teams’ first possession, the score remains tied, another overtime period takes place.

High School

High school overtime is similar to college football’s overtime rules. Instead of uniformly awarding possession to the coin-toss winner at the 25-yard line, National Federation of State High School Association football rules allow state organizations to determine the location of ball possession. Most states give possession at the 10-, 15-, 20- or 25-yard line. From this point, high school football overtime takes place in the same manner as the college game, but defensive units may not advance an intercepted pass or fumble recovery.

Professional

The NFL uses an overtime procedure known as sudden death. This process calls for an additional 15-minute quarter in which the first scoring team is declared the winner. If neither team scores at the end of 15 minutes, the game ends in a tie. During playoff games, however, additional 15-minute periods are added until a team scores. Before the 2010 season, NFL owners voted to modify the sudden-death rules for playoff games only. The new rule applies only if the team that wins the overtime coin toss scores a field goal on its first overtime possession. In this situation, the team that lost the overtime coin toss is given at least one possession to match the field goal or top it with a touchdown. If matched, the overtime continues in the regular sudden-death format. If the coin toss winner returns the kickoff for a touchdown, the game is over.

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League employs the same overtime format as American college football, but gives the team that wins the coin toss possession at the 35-yard line. In 2010, the CFL made two-point conversions mandatory following touchdowns scored in overtime. In college football, if, after two overtime periods, the score remains tied, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown.