In NCAA football, teams do not have to go for two until the third overtime. The first two extra periods give each team an untimed opportunity to score from the opponent’s 25-yard line. If the score is still tied after two overtimes, teams alternate two-point conversion attempts until one team’s result is better than the other’s. Starting with the third overtime, each team has one timeout for the rest of the game.
How the first two overtime periods work
If regulation ends tied, the game continues with untimed overtime periods. In each of the first two periods, both teams get an opportunity to score, beginning at the opponent’s 25-yard line. The NCAA statistical manual defines an overtime period as both teams’ attempts to score from the 25; even a period in which neither team scores counts as an overtime period.
This is not sudden death: the first team’s result does not end the game before the opponent has its corresponding opportunity.
When teams have to go for two
If the game remains tied after the second overtime, the procedure changes in the third. Teams no longer begin a conventional scoring opportunity from the 25-yard line. Instead, they alternate two-point conversion plays. The NCAA says this format began in the 2021 season.
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How alternating attempts decide the game
Each team takes its turn. If one converts and the other does not, the team that converts wins. If both convert, or both fail, they continue alternating attempts in the next overtime until their results differ. For example, if Team A converts and Team B fails on their respective attempts, Team A wins.
Timeouts from the third overtime onward
Beginning with the third overtime, each team has one timeout to use for the remainder of the game. The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved this change on April 16, 2025, for the 2025-26 season; previously, teams received one timeout per overtime period. The NCAA said the change was intended to keep play moving once a game reached the third extra period.
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Which rules this explanation covers
This is the NCAA format, not NFL overtime. The NCAA identifies its football rulebook through its football rules page. The NCAA’s 2026 rules-change publication says its listed changes take effect with the 2026 season and does not list an overtime-procedure change; the timeout rule described above took effect in 2025-26.
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