It’s that time of year again, the NCAA College Football season is upon us as the season kicks off on August 28th and will last until December 11, 2021. The post season will start on December 18, 2021 and will officially end on January 10, 2022.
There will be a total of 130 teams that will participate in 11 conferences and the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. College Football games can be seen on ESPN; CBS Sports Network; Fox; fuboTV and various streaming services.
Some rules changes have come into effect this season, but the bulk of the rules are virtually the same as the NFL. So just in case you’re new to the college game we answer one of the fundamental questions for first timers, how long is a college football game?
How long does a college football game last?
John Metchie III #8 of the Alabama Crimson Tide rushes ahead of Sevyn Banks #7 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the fourth quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty)
NCAA College Football games last the same as the NFL, technically 60 minutes. Two halves of 30 minutes divided into 4 quarters of 15 minutes. What makes the games last longer than average NFL games is the fact that in the College game the clock is stopped for every out-of-bounds, moving the chains for first downs, and TV timeouts last longer than in the NFL.
Also, in NCAA College Football half-time last longer, 20 minutes as opposed to 12 minutes in the NFL, this is due to many games having marching bands and half-time shows on a regular basis.
In College Football there is no overtime limit and on average a College Football game can last as long as 4 hours as opposed to the 3 hours and 20 minutes an NFL game can last.
see also
NCAA College Football 2021: Top 25 rankings
