What is College Football's leverage penalty? All you need to know

In the NFL, there's a rule that's called the leverage penalty. It's not as common as a lot of penalties in football, but it's quite easy to spot by both fans and game officials when it does happen. That's because it's kind of glaring.

A leverage penalty in the NFL is called when a player on defense intentionally stands on or jumps off a teammate (using them as leverage, hence the name) to block a field goal or punt. As previously mentioned, this penalty rarely happens. But when it does, it can potentially change the outcome of the entire game.

Here is a video of a leverage penalty being called in the NFL. In it, you'll clearly see the defending player use their teammate as leverage to block the ball:

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What is the leverage penalty in the College Football?

The NCAA has a leverage penalty as well like the NFL. But instead, they call it a "leaping penalty" in the college game. It happens more or less the same in college football games. A referee will call it when a player leaps off someone to block a punt or field goal. But sometimes, situations can change, as shown in this video here:

In this game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers last season, Iowa was called for a leaping penalty after leaping the punt shield. The commentators on the game were discussing whether the player was actively leaping or was thrown over the shoulder, but the penalty stayed.

It might've cost Iowa a chance to come back in the game, because there was still more than enough time for them to make up that deficit. That's just how big a leaping or leverage penalty in college football can be.

It can completely shut the door on a team trying to come back from a big deficit late in the game. Or, it could be the complete opposite: it can cause a team to completely blow a massive lead.

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The punishment

Just like in the pros, the rules are the same: 15 yards from the line of scrimmage and an automatic first down (via Rookie Road). The latter is the most devastating part of this penalty, as it can completely make any defense's efforts useless. A team could be basically holding the line on defense, and a single leverage penalty could completely turn their efforts around and open the floodgates for the opposing team.

Another bad thing about a leaping/leverage penalty is that it's considered an unsportsmanlike conduct. It might not be as disrespectful as constantly taunting an opposing player or using abusive language towards anyone in the stadium, but the negative effects of it are obvious.