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Any rules for football originally started from the NCAA rules. These were the basics of the sport. As time went on, different leagues made small changes, so now we have slightly different rules for college and professional football.

The field size, shape, and measurements are the same, however the goal posts are different. The NFL goal is 18'6" wide and has one support. The goal for the NCAA is 23'4" wide and has two supports.

During game play, the NFL tends to use specialization. This means that each player is really good at kicking, running, or throwing so whatever specialization is needed during that play, the player can be substituted in. The NCAA does use substitution, but it is limited.

The time that the players have to act after the ball is put into play is also different. The NFL has thirty seconds, whereas the NCAA has twenty five.

Another difference is when a player can continue to run after slipping. In the NFL, if a player trips and falls to his knee, if he has not been tackled he can continue running. In the NCAA, the player is considered to be down if any part of his body touches the field other than his feet or hands.

When the ball is fumbled and touches the ground, according to the NFL, the ball can be recovered and advanced by either team. In the NCAA, the ball can only be advanced by the team that fumbled. The other team can recover the ball, but cannot run.

As far as timeouts go, the NCAA can only be taken when a player is injured ot when it is called by the referee. The NFL can take a fourth time out if it is taken during the last two minutes of the second or fourth periods. A five penalty exchange needs to be made for this timeout.

Overtime in the NFL is sudden death where the first team to score during that period is the winner. The NCAA only uses overtime to break ties in the championship level games where there can only be one winner. During this, the winner is the team that has the most points into overtime after each team has had an equal number of possessions.

Even though professional football and college football started out using the same rules, over the years, they have developed differences. They are still the same game played a little differently dependent on the situation.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Piper.
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