The NFL vs College Football

Sometimes, the question is asked: What makes the National Football League and it's predecessor, the NCAA College Football programs different?

You get paid to play in the NFL. You get at best an academic scholarship while playing football in college, it's nowhere near the amount of money you receive in the NFL though. Not by a long shot.

The hash marks (those white lines in the middle of every football field) in NFL games are more narrow then what they are in college. This makes setting up for Field Goals in college a little harder because the hash mark where you ended your last play is the side where you line up for a FG.

There is no two minute warning in College Football.

The clock stop momentarily once the offense successfully gets a first down in College Football. The clock never stops in the pros when the ball is in the field of play. 

The College Football PAT (point after touch) is one yard farther then where the NFL players set up for their PAT tries. Hey, it's not much, but it's still different!

In College once your knee touches the ground, the play is dead wherever you are. this is not the case in the NFL, you can catch the ball with either knee down or falling to the ground, but as long as no one on the defense touches you, you can get back and and pick up more yards.

In College you only need one foot in bounds to secure a completed pass. In the pros you need both feet in bounds for a recorded reception. It makes sideline grabs that much more difficult when you have to catch the ball and keep both of your feet in bounds.

Overtime in both levels are vastly different as well. In College both teams get the ball at their 25 yard line. The game goes on until one team scores and/or stops the opposing team first. Both get the chance to score TDs or FGs. In the NFL whoever scores first, wins. There is only one overtime in the NFL level and if no one scores in that allotted time, the game results in a tie. The only time this is not the case in the NFL is in the playoffs or beyond. In College there are no ties.

I think those are most of the differences...