So you’ve faked your way through every Penn State football game, cheering when the crowd cheers and booing when the crowd boos. You’ve had three months of football game weekends to Instagram about and five home games to get game day ready for, and now you have the Big 10 Championship title to brag over. You own Nittany Lion ears, your Converse are dirty from tailgates and you’ve eaten enough chicken baskets to fuel the entire football team. However, for the life of you, you don’t know what “offsides” means or why your boyfriend is yelling, “Go for two!” Here is a little Football 101 to help you understand the newest great American pastime before Penn State dominates the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl.
*Disclaimer: not all girls need this guide as many women understand and appreciate football, but if you’re anything like me before college, you have no idea what is happening on the field and could use a little help.
Let’s get down to the basics: logistics.
A game has four quarters, divided by a halftime where you have 20-30 minutes to go for chicken basket #2 (or if you’re a fake fan this is when you leave). Each quarter is 15 minutes long but between timeouts, penalties, injuries, reviews, and other unforeseen incidents, it will last significantly longer. Most college football games tend to last anywhere between two and a half to three and a half hours.
A football field is 100 yards long with two additional ten-yard endzones. In every American football game a coin toss before the game determines who will play offense or defense first. The visiting team always calls the coin toss and the team that wins the toss will choose to receive the kickoff (putting them on offense first) or they can choose to play defense first and kick to the other team. There are 22 players on the field at all times, 11 for each team.
Now, let’s talk positions.
Ignore what you’ve learned from Friday Night Lights, all the players get some glory at Penn State and play a huge role on the team. As with most contact sports, there is an offense (sweaty guys trying to move the ball past the other team’s defense to the endzone to score), and a defense (sweaty guys keeping the ball from getting into their endzone for a touchdown, aka the frat boys at the door asking, “who do you know here?”).
On the offensive team: the objective is to move the ball from their side of the field all the way to the other team’s endzone.
Quarterback (QB): Responsible for handling the ball after it’s snapped from the center. QB passes/hands the ball off to other players, or runs it. (We all know him as Trace McSorley.)
Fullback (FB): This is one of the two players standing behind the QB. He divides his duties between blocking for the QB or Tailback/Running Back during passing plays and running the ball.
Tailback/Running Back: The other player behind the QB who is usually furthest from the line of scrimmage. He runs the ball during running plays, but can also go out for passes. This is Saquon Barkley’s department, who was recently named the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year.
Tight End: Typically a larger receiver that lines up with the offensive linemen and can either block or go out for passes. Mike Gesicki is this position’s MVP.
Wide Receivers: Usually tall, fast players who are responsible for running passing routes and catching the football (Chris Godwin, DaeSean Hamilton, etc).
Center: Snaps the ball back to the QB and blocks.
Offensive Linemen (Guards on the inside, Tackles on the outside): The big boys. They stand in front of the QB and are responsible for blocking on running and passing plays. They cannot catch or run the ball but they can recover it if there is a fumble.
On the defensive team: the objective is to stop the other team from scoring.
Defensive Tackle: Linemen responsible for rushing the passer, or tackling the guy with the football.
Defensive Ends: Responsible for stopping plays on the outside edges (ends) of the line.
Linebacker: Responsible for tackling anyone with the football and covering certain receivers on pass plays. Can also rush the passer (called a Blitz).
Cornerback: Covers the wide receivers and attempts to deflect (knock down or tip) or intercept passes.
Nose Guard: Across from the offensive teams center; is responsible for stopping any runs and creating havoc in the offensive backfield.
Safety: This is the last line of defense (there’s usually two). They are responsible for covering receivers and making interceptions or knocking down passes and for tackling if the pass is caught or if the runner gets past the rest of the defense.
On special teams:
Kicker: Attempts all field goals and kickoffs, not usually the same guy. (cue: “Joey! Joey!”)
Holder: Holds the ball for the kicker to kick (I could totally do that).
Punter: Punts the ball; almost always someone different from the Kickers.
Gunners: Fast guys who run down the sideline to tackle the Kick Returner.
Kick Returner: Returns kickoffs and punts.
So, how do you get points?
Teams can score a touchdown, 6 points, plus get an extra point, which is 1 point that the kicker (Tyler Davis) can earn by kicking the ball between the goal posts. If a team is running out of time or feels they are not close enough to score a touchdown, they may attempt a field goal for 3 points. A field goal is typically kicked on a fourth down (see below).
Another option after a touchdown (other than kicking for the extra point) is attempting to run or pass the ball into the endzone a second time for two points (“go for two”) in a two-point conversion. This is not common though as it is very hard to do and is rarely successful. Two points for a safety goes to the defense when an offensive player is taken down in his own endzone.
The defense can sack the quarterback (tackling him before he ever throws the ball). A defensive player may catch, or intercept, the ball when it’s in the air, intended for an offensive player, causing a turn over. The offensive players can fumble, or drop, the ball, and if the defense recovers it they now have possession of the ball.
What is a down?
A down is a play. The offense (team with the ball) has 4 chances, or downs, to move the ball at least 10 yards, but they ideally want to go farther. When the ball is stopped or the pass is incomplete or goes out-of-bounds, the play is over and the next play will begin. The offense’s objective is to get a first down, at which point they have 4 more plays, or chances, to move another 10 yards. At fourth down, a team will usually punt the ball back to the defense, whose team then gets possession. Occasionally, a team will sometimes go for it on fourth down if they have only a few yards to move and are close to the opponent’s endzone. They can also kick a field goal on fourth down.
So a phrase like, “2nd and 9” means the down they’re on and the number of yards they need to move in order to achieve a first down.
How does timekeeping work?
The clock is only stopped when the player carrying the ball runs out-of-bounds, or when there is an incomplete pass, and temporarily when there’s a first down. Each team is allowed three time-outs per quarter during which the clock also stops. Ties are not allowed, so a game will go into overtime if there is a tie when the clock runs out in the fourth quarter. (Now you have an excuse for chicken basket #3.)
Why are there so many penalities?
Football may seem boring when the referees are relentlessly throwing flags for misplays and penalties, but I would argue that this is also what makes it so exciting – all the unpredicted drama of it. Here is what will prompt a flag on the play.
False start (offsides): If an offensive player moves before the snap this will warrant a 5-yard penalty.
Holding: If an offensive player grabs the arm or jersey/padding of a player on the defense, this will warrant a 10-yard penalty. If a defensive player holds, it’s 5-yards.
Targeting: A new penalty that is usually controversial when called. Occurs when a player intentionally uses the crown of his helmet to hit another player in the head or neck area. Can also be called when a player launches himself in the air at another player or uses his forearm, hand, fist, elbow, or shoulder in an aggressive manner beyond an ordinary tackle. The penalty is 15 yards plus ejection from the game and even the next game.
Illegal block in the back: If an offensive player blocks a defender by hitting anything outside the front shoulder pads, this will warrant a 10-yard penalty.
Chop blocking/clipping: If a player blocks another under the waist from behind, this will warrant a 15-yard penalty. This also causes many injuries.
Delay of game: If the offense exceeds the 25 seconds they have to snap the ball after the referee’s whistle to start the play, this will warrant a 5-yard penalty.
Face mask: If a player grabs an opponent’s face mask area of their helmet, this will warrant a 5-yard penalty.
Unsportsmanlike conduct: If a player insults/taunts/harms an opponent or continues to run into an opponent aggressively after a whistle is blown, this will warrant a 15-yard penalty. Excessive celebration is also part of this, but the NCAA rules are far more lenient than the NFL rules (college football vs. pro).
There you have it – your speedy Football 101. You’ll never be lost watching ESPN again. There are more specifics to the game, but now that you have the gist you won’t have to fake cheer anymore. For The Glory!