NFHS – NCAA Rules Differences | Art of Officiating

In 2022, there were 534 rules differences between the NFL and NCAA and 263 rules differences between the NCAA and NFHS.

Coaches and spectators often complain about a decision we make based on a college or NFL football play they observed on television. Sometimes high school football officials believe they can get by with incomplete NFHS rules knowledge because they are confident in their experience and feel for the game. They may consequently incorrectly rule on a play because they default to a college or NFL ruling.

Each year, George Demetriou, the Redding Study Guide author, publishes an NFHS – NCAA Rules Differences document. You can find it HERE.

I’ve consolidated some of the most common differences below:

NFHS	NCAA
No automatic first down for defensive holding, personal foul, or defensive pass interference	Automatic first down
The pass does not have to be catchable for DPI	The pass must be catchable
An unsuccessful field goal outside the 20 results in a touchback if the ball crosses the goal line	The ball is returned to the previous spot if untouched by B beyond the neutral zone
Free kick encroachment, less than four players on either side of the kicker, and more than one player more than 5 yards behind the free kick line are dead ball fouls	Offsides and other infractions are live-ball fouls with a penalty option to enforce from the end of the run when the kicking team is offside
Fumble out of bounds is spotted where it becomes dead. Clock starts on the snap. No fourth down fumble rule	Forward fumbles are returned to the spot of the fumble, clock starts on the ready. Fourth down fumble rule; also applies on a try
No foul for removing the helmet while on the field	Players cannot remove the helmet unless in the team box except for timeouts
Intentional grounding to save yardage: loss of down and 5-yard penalty from the spot of the pass (end of the run); the boundary is the free blocking zone	Loss of down at the spot of the pass, no yardage penalty; the boundary is the tackle box
Kick-catch interference if a free kick is touched in-flight by K	Interference only if an R player is positioned to make a catch
Pop-up kick is a dead-ball foul	The kick can be immediately driven to the ground
Touchback when non-scoring kick breaks the plane of Team R’s goal line or when a scoring attempt is unsuccessful. Touching is not a factor	Remains live unless the ball first touches the ground in the end zone before it touches a Team R player
Defensive encroachment – dead ball foul	Defensive offside – dead ball or live ball foul
Numbering exception applies only on fourth down or try whenever K is in a scrimmage-kick (punt) formation. On 1st-3rd down, only the snapper can have a number outside the 50-79 range	Applies whenever K is in a scrimmage-kick formation
Only the snapper may lock legs with the guards. All other linemen must have both feet outside the outside foot of the adjacent player	Any offensive lineman may lock legs with another lineman
Overtime: Equal series from 10-yard line	Equal series from 25-yard line
Replaced player must depart within 3 seconds; no foul for breaking the huddle with 12 players unless it violates the 3-second rule	Team A cannot break the huddle with 12 players
Targeting is not an automatic disqualification unless flagrant	Automatic DQ, subject to review. Unless hit is with crown of helmet, applies only to defenseless players
On a try, the ball is dead when kick fails or when B secures possession. B cannot score. Ball remains live on fumble if Team A recovers.	The ball remains live as on any field goal attempt. B may score 2 points. Prior to change of possession, the try ends if A1 fumbles and a teammate recovers
Knee pads must cover the knees	The pants and knee pads are recommended to cover the knees
Multiple penalty enforcement rules differences	Multiple penalty enforcement rules differences

Rules Differences

There are multiple NFL and NFHS rules differences. One of the most common: A player numbered 50-79 can “report” as an eligible receiver in the NFL. In NFHS, players 50-79 are permanently ineligible.