Both college football and the NFL allow coaches to “ice” kickers by calling timeouts right before field-goal attempts or extra points. There’s no restriction on calling timeouts before those plays, which is why coaches at both levels do it all the time.
But the sports’ rules aren’t quite the same.
NFL teams can ice a kicker only once per attempt.
In the NFL, a team is allowed to call only one timeout per “dead-ball period.” That means a coach can’t call two timeouts in between the same two plays.
The exact rule, emphasis added:
Each team may be granted a charged team timeout during the same dead-ball period, but a second charged team timeout by either team during the same dead-ball period is prohibited. Such team timeouts may follow a Referee’s timeout or any automatic timeouts.
The most obvious time when this might come up is before a big field-goal attempt, if a coach has saved up more than one timeout and really wants to play mind games. But the rule also matters if a team wants to adjust its personnel presnap on offense or defense. The NFL doesn’t let you take more than one timeout at a time to do that.
College teams can call timeouts whenever they want.
There’s no prohibition on consecutive timeouts in the NCAA’s rulebook. If a team wants to use all three of its timeouts back-to-back — before an opposing field-goal attempt or at any other time in the game — there’s nothing stopping it.
In 2017, Houston exploited the lack of such a rule in a game against Memphis. As the Tigers lined up for a 52-yard field-goal attempt, UH head coach Major Applewhite called a timeout right before the long snap, three times in a row. (Memphis’ kicker used the occasion to take three practice kicks, and two went through.) But on the kicker’s fourth attempt, the first one that actually counted, he missed.
There’s no evidence that icing the kicker actually does anything.
The idea is to put extra pressure on the kicker by making him psyche himself up repeatedly.
Research hasn’t turned up any statistical proof that kickers who get iced are any less accurate than those who aren’t taunted with timeouts. One study found that kickers who were iced were slightly more accurate than those who weren’t.
Not every coach ices opposing kickers, but plenty do, and they’re unlikely to stop. The downside is zero or close to zero, depending on how valuable you think a practice kick might be to the other side’s kicker. And if a coach is worried about giving him one, he can just call his timeout before the units line up.
FAQs
Should the kicker make the subsequent kick, then the attempt to ice the kicker is considered unsuccessful. In the NFL, each team can only call one timeout the same two plays. In contrast, repeated icing in college football is legal provided a team has multiple timeouts remaining.
What rules are different between college and NFL? ›
Major rule differences
| Rule | NFL | College football |
|---|
| Two-minute warning (an automatic time out when two minutes remain in each half) | Yes | No |
| Starting point of a one- or two-point conversion | Fifteen-yard line for one-point and two-yard line for two-point | Three-yard line for both |
9 more rowsThe football goal crossbar is 10 feet high, and the posts are an additional 20 feet high, for a total height of 30 feet. NFL and NCAA goalposts are 18 feet, 6 inches wide. High school goalposts are 23 feet, 4 inches wide.
Does icing the kicker work in the NFL? ›
Kickers were successful on 236/353, or 67%, of attempts. The rate drops to 25/42, or 62% for iced kickers while kickers who were not iced connected on 195/287, or 68% of attempts. Generally, from distances up to about 45 yards, icing the kicker appears to reduce the chances of a successful kick about 5% or so.
What is the biggest difference between college football and the NFL? ›
In the NFL, you have to be forced down for a play to be over. That means if a player slips or trips without contacting another player, they can pick themselves up and continue the play. In college football, a play is over as soon as any part of the body touches the ground that isn't the player's hands or feet.
What's the difference between a college football and an NFL football? ›
The NFL and NCAA do not use the exact same specifications for their footballs, meaning the balls used in college football can be slightly smaller. The balls used in college football also have white stripes on either end, while NFL footballs have no stripes.
Are college and NFL goal posts the same width? ›
The width of NFL and NCAA college football goal posts is 18ft 6” (5.6m) wide. In high school football, the side post height isn't as set in stone. They are typically 12-15ft (3.7-4.6m), taking the overall height to 22-25ft (6.7-7.6m).
Are college uprights wider than NFL? ›
The width of the goal posts varies across different leagues: NFL and NCAA field goal posts are 18 feet 6 inches wide. High school posts are slightly wider at 23 feet 4 inches.
Are college goal posts shorter than NFL? ›
The total area of the field is 57,600 sq ft or 5,350 m2. There is a goal centered on each end line, with a crossbar 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground and goalposts 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart (in college and the NFL) extending at least 35 feet (11 m) above the crossbar.
What is the snowplow rule in the NFL? ›
The game became known as the Snowplow Game, even though it was a sweeper attached to the John Deere tractor Henderson was driving and not a plow. Shula was on the NFL's competition committee and the next spring, the league ruled that referees could not allow groundskeepers to clear snow from the field before a kick.
In the NFL, each team can only call one timeout the same two plays. In contrast, repeated icing in college football is legal provided a team has multiple timeouts remaining.
What is Rule 17 in the NFL? ›
Under Rule 17 of the NFL rulebook, the commissioner also has the authority to overturn a game result (that is, order a forfeit loss to the offending team and a walkover win for the wronged team), order the game to be fully replayed, or to discard the results of the game from the unfair act onward and resume play from ...
What kicker was banned from the NFL? ›
EAST RUTHERFORD — Former Giants kicker Josh Brown has been suspended for a second time by the NFL for his repeated abuse of his former wife while they were married.
What is the new kicker rule in the NFL? ›
Under the new rules, the kicking team's kicker will continue to kick from the 35-yard line. But rather than be flanked by his teammates, the rest of the kicking team will line up at their opponent's 40-yard line, eliminating the traditional running head start.
Do NFL teams carry a backup kicker? ›
Not typically. Each team carries one punter and one kicker (and typically a long-snapper). There are no extras. Some teams have kickers who can punt or a punter who can kick, in the event of an emergency.
What is the difference between college and pro sports? ›
The biggest difference between collegiate and pro sports is the role of the athlete. Professional athletes are employees. In college, they are students first and athletes second. Because of this, we are able to impact collegiate student-athletes' lives in a more meaningful way.
Can a college football player play both offense and defense? ›
The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby players played continuously on both offense and defense.
Are NFL and college fields the same size? ›
How wide is a football field? The width of a football field is 53.3 yards (160ft/48.8m). This stays the same across high school, NCAA and NFL football meaning that all high school, college and NFL football fields are exactly the same size.
