College Football 2-Minute Warning: Explaining timeout rule change for 2024

A significant change has been implemented in college football for the 2024 season: the introduction of a mandatory two-minute timeout. Keep reading to find out more information about this rule change and how it will affect the game:

How will college football’s two-minute timeout work?

Starting in the 2024 season, the referee will stop the game clock with exactly two minutes left in the second and fourth quarters when the game clock is running and the ball is not live.

If the ball is live, the clock will be stopped as soon as the play has ended. This is similar to the NFL's two-minute warning which has been in place since 1942.

Will the two-minute timeout make college football games longer?

This rule change will not affect the length of college football games. The NCAA rulebook mandates that networks broadcasting college football games must hold back at least one media timeout to align with the two-minute timeout. If the game isn't televised, the timeout will last one minute, plus the referee's five-second notification and the 25-second play clock interval.

Why did the NCAA add the two-minute timeout?

"The two-minute timeout will allow all end-of-half and end-of-game timing rules to be simplified and synch up with this timeout," said Steve Shaw, the NCAA's secretary-rules editor back in March 2024. "This will also help broadcast partners to avoid back-to-back media timeouts."

This change in the timing rules of NCAA college football follows another change in 2023. Last Spring, the NCAA updated its approach to clock management on first downs. The rule was updated to include a running clock on first downs, except in the last two minutes in the second and fourth quarters. Previously, the clock was stopped until the offensive team reached the line of scrimmage.

Why is it called the two-minute timeout and not the two-minute warning?

Under the NCAA rules, this change is officially called the "two-minute timeout." However, most casual football fans will likely refer to it as a two-minute warning. The NCAA stated that the timeout is not meant to be a time warning from officials as it was back when first implemented in the NFL. Back then, a member of the officiating crew kept the game time and the stadium clock was unofficial. Although, this is no longer the purpose of the NFL's two-minute warning, they have stuck with the name.