College football dominates your television screens on Saturdays during the fall. If we’re being honest, it dominates the action on many more days as well, especially midweek MACtion, but if you’re watching college football on TV, have you ever wondered why the halftime breaks feel so much longer than NFL games?
How Long Is Halftime During College Football Games?
With the college game’s overall length being longer than in the NFL, one may expect an elongated halftime period to be a potential culprit. That actually isn’t the case, as college football has always emphasized that halftime periods should last no longer than 20 minutes.
Typically, college football halftime last exactly that: 20 minutes, at least in terms of a countdown to when action can begin in the second half.
MORE: College Football Overtime Rules Explained
College football halftimes last longer than in the NFL by roughly 6.5 minutes. With the new rules bringing the timing of the actual play on the field down closer to the NFL levels, it’d be no surprise to see the halftime periods stay the same in college for the foreseeable future.
A main reason for the longer length of time in a college game is the amount of plays the student-athletes take part in during these contests. On average, college football games consist of roughly 40 more plays than NFL games, though that number is trending downward to more like 20-25 more plays a game than NFL games with the new college football timing rules.
To combat that, colleges employ longer halftime breaks and larger roster sizes than the NFL’s 53-man roster limit.
College football teams employ a roster of 85 scholarship players, but there is no limit to the amount of walk-ons nor the total amount of players a team can carry. There is a caveat here, however, as travel squads are typically limited to 70 players at the FBS level.
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