How Long are College Football Games?
College Football games have an official length of 60 minutes divided into four quarters, each lasting 15 minutes. That said, in reality, the average length of a college football game is typically closer to three hours.
What Factors Affect Game Time
The length of a college football game can vary depending on a number of factors, including:
- Number of injuries
- Number of timeouts
- Length of halftime
- Foul play or rule questions under review
- State of the game (close, blowout, etc…)
Shortening Game Length
In recent years, the NCAA has introduced several measures to try and shorten the length of college football games, which is especially important for TV networks and viewability. Some of these changes include:
- Limit of two 30 second timeouts per team per half
- Halftime cut from 20 to 15 minutes
- Elimination of the 25-second play clock between plays
Despite these changes, the length of a college football game can still vary – but that’s part of what makes the sport so exciting!
In summary…
College football games officially last 60 minutes, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each. In reality, the average game length is closer to three hours, affected by factors such as injuries, timeouts, halftime, and foul play reviews. The NCAA has introduced measures in recent times to reduce the length of games, but ultimately the duration of a college football game varies wildly – adding to the excitement and unpredictability of the sport!
