Let’s face it. For a lot of college girls, Pitt football games mean drinking a few cheap beers at a tailgate and then being dragged into Heinz field to watch a bunch of guys run around the field in uniforms. I know a lot of people who don’t understand football – and I don’t blame them! So, I’m going to share a few basic things that will help you understand the game and know when to cheer.
Football 101
The most basic part of football is a down. Let’s say this is the Pitt vs Penn State game. When Pitt is on offense, they have 4 chances to move ten yards and get a first down. Each time they try, the number of the downs go up – second down, third down, fourth down. You’ll hear announcers say “second and three” which means that Pitt is on their second down and they have three yards left to go. Once they make the ten yards, the yards reset and Pitt has another four chances to make a first down. Pitt attempts to do this all the way down the 100-yard field to make a touchdown. If they don’t make the ten yards, then Pitt has to kick the ball to Penn State and they switch roles.
A football game is broken up into four quarters. Each quarter has fifteen minutes of playing time but the games usually last much longer than an hour. Depending on if the offensive team runs the ball or throws the ball to attempt a first down, the clock may continue to run or stop all together. Plus, half time is twenty minutes long which adds to total game time.
How to Score
Ok, so there are four ways to score in football. The most exciting and well known way is the touchdown. Pitt can do this by bringing the football from one end of the field to the the end zone (this is the part of the field with Pittsburgh written in the grass). Getting a touchdown gives Pitt six points and then there is an extra point where the kicker kicks the ball through the giant yellow poles to get one point. A team can also score by making a field goal. They usually try for this when they are close to the end zone but didn’t get a touchdown on their four downs. A field goal gives a team three points. There is also something called a safety where the defensive team gets into the opposing team’s end zone and this gives them two points.
Players in the Game
Here are just a few of the most important players in a football game. The quarterback, or a QB, is on the offensive team and they either throw or hand off the ball to a receiver to attempt a first down. This is the person that says “set, hike” in a game which you may have seen in movies. Max Browne is Pitt’s current starting quarterback. Wide receivers and running backs are the players that receive the football from the QB to attempt the first down. Some big receivers for Pitt include James Conner and Quadree Henderson.
When a team is on defense, the players essentially stand in a line and do everything they can to prevent the other team from getting a first down. The majority of the players on defense are called linebackers and they are the huge players on the team that can tackle someone before you can even scream “go Pitt!” A big defensive play is when a player “sacks” the QB and pushes him back so that their team has to go more than ten yards to get a first down. Two of the major defensive players for Pitt include Jordan Whitehead and Avonte Maddox.
If a team doesn’t make the first down and needs to punt to the other team, then the normal players leave the field and the special teams come on. One option for the receiver is to make a “fair catch” where they catch the ball and kneel down saying that they’re not trying to run any farther. This will automatically put the ball on the twenty-yard line. Another option is to catch the punted ball and try to run as far as they can so that they can start closer to the end zone. Most of the time this backfires but occasionally the receiver will run all the way to the end zone which makes for a very exciting touchdown.
I hope this article helped answer a few of your questions about football! Now you don’t have to be that confused person in the stands anymore.