Indoor Football 101

THE FIELD

• An indoor padded surface 85 feet wide and 50 yards long with eight-yard end zones.
• Goal posts are 10 feet wide with a crossbar height of 10 feet (NFL goal posts are 18 1/2 feet wide with the crossbar at 10 feet).

THE PLAYERS AND FORMATIONS

• 25-man regular season roster; 21-man game day roster (4 inactives).
• Eight vs. eight on the field.
• Four offensive players must line up on the line of scrimmage. 
• Three defensive players must be down linemen (in a three of four-point stance). One linebacker may blitz on either side of the center. 
• Defensive linemen must line up no wider than shoulder to shoulder (“shading”) on the offensive lineman in front of them. In scrimmage kick formation, the defensive linemen must align head-up on the offensive lineman, with no shading.  The defensive lineman may not stunt or twist, except when in scrimmage kick formation.
• Offensive motion: Two receivers may go in forward motion before the snap. Three players in motion is a false start. 

TIMING

• Four 15-minute quarters, with a 15-minute halftime.
• The clock stops for a player injury, challenges, a penalty, all scores except a touchdown, and a one-minute warning prior to each half. When inside one minute of either half (“One-minute timing rules”) the clock will stop on out-of-bounds plays, incomplete passes, and first-downs, similar to NCAA football rules.
• Each team is allowed three time-outs per half.

SCORING

• Touchdown: Six (6) points
• Field Goal by Placement: Three (3) points
• Field Goal by Drop Kick: Four (4) points
• Safety: Two (2) points
• Safety on Two Point Conversion Attempt: One (1) point
• PAT by Running/Passing: Two (2) points
• PAT by Drop Kick: Two (2) points
• Returned PAT by Defense to Team A’s End Zone: Two (2) points
• PAT by Place Kick: One (1) point
• Deuce (Kickoff That Passes Through Uprights): Two (2) points
• Rouge (Kickoff Downed in End Zone): One (1) point

KICKING

• Kickoffs are from the goal line. Kickers may use a one-inch tee.
• Punting is illegal. On fourth down, a team may go for a first down, touchdown, or field goal.
• The receiving team may field any kickoff, but if they fail to pass the goal line on the return, the kicking team will be awarded one point (a “Rouge”). 
• Any kickoff untouched that is out of bounds will be placed at the 20-yard line or the place where it went out of bounds, whichever is more advantageous to the receiving team.
• If the kick passes through the uprights during a kickoff, the kicking team will be awarded two points (a “Deuce”).

PASSING

• Passing rules in the IFL are the same as those in NCAA Football, with some variations. There is illegal contact in the IFL, similar to NFL rules. In addition, all walls are out of bounds for any forward pass that strikes the wall. The ball is dead, and the play shall be blown dead immediately anytime a forward pass strikes any wall.
• Over the wall catches are legal in certain situations.  A player is out of bounds if no part of his body contacts the wall prior to going over the wall. If the player is contacted by a defensive player in such a way that he is forced out of bounds over the wall, without touching the wall, the player is out of bounds. If this occurs? No catch.
• A player is in bounds if any part of a player’s body contacts any wall prior to going over the wall, regardless of whether defensive contact was the cause for such player going over the wall. If this occurs, and the player secures possession over the wall, it is a catch.

OVERTIME RULES

• Overtime is conducted the same as in NCAA Football. Each overtime period consists of a two-possession series with each team getting one possession on offense and one on defense. The team on offense will always start at the designated plus 20-yard line (unless relocated by a penalty). 
• The team that scores the most points during regulation and overtime wins the game. If the game is still tied after an overtime period, there will be another overtime period.
• Beginning with the third overtime period, teams that score a touchdown must attempt a two-point conversion.