Football Freshman? 10 Things You Should Know

BBQ’s are fired up, jerseys are donned, and ESPN College Gameday is blaring in your common room. You know what that means — football season is officially in full swing. What’s that you say? You’re no Erin Andrews (minus the creepy bathroom stalker*) when it comes to our second favorite American pastime? Well, Football Freshman, have no fear. Check out our list of 10 Things You Need to Know before the first game this Saturday:

1. 1^st down: a “down” starts with either the snap (aka “hiking the ball”) or free kick (for example, kickoff, which is self-explanatory), and ends when either a) the player with the ball is declared ‘down,’ b) the ball is ‘down,’ c) someone scores, or d) the ball or the player with the ball crosses the sidelines (is “out”). Each ball possession starts with the first down. 10 yards out is marked, and the offensive team (see #2) tries to make it past that line. If the team can’t do this after 4 tries (downs), they turn the ball over to the other team and the process starts over.
2. Offense: team with the ball. Defense: other team trying to keep the offense from scoring
3. When the offense gets the ball to the end zone (between endline and goal line, usually has the school’s name painted on it), they score a touchdown. 
4. A touchdown is 6 points.
5. After they score a touchdown, the offensive team gets the chance to go for the extra point (kick a field goal) or two-point conversion (running play). Extra point is 1 point, two-point conversion is 2 (duh).
6. A team may also kick a field goal to score points (3, to be exact) if one of several situations arises: a) it’s fourth down (see #1), the offense is within roughly 45 yards of the goal posts but more than 1 or 2 yards from a first down, or b) there is almost no time left on the clock (especially if the offense needs 3 points to tie the game, or win) or the game is in overtime       
7. The “pigskin” is the ball. The “gridiron” is the field. “OT” is overtime. “Taking it to the house” is scoring. (Also used in a basketball context, but you should say that phrase as much as possible because it sounds hilarious, and there’s a song to go with it: Trick Daddy ft. Trina: Take it to da House) A “pancake” is when someone gets completely laid out by a defensive player, and it’s really awesome.
8. There are 11 players (per team) on the field at a time. Positions & abbreviations are listed below:

      QB: quarterback
      RB: Running Back
      WR: Wide Receiver
      TE: Tight End
      OL: Offensive Lineman
      C: Center
      G: Guard
      OT: Offensive Tackle
      DE: Defensive End
      DT: Defensive Tackle
      NT: Nose Tackle
      LB: Linebacker
      CB: Cornerback
      DB: Defensive back
      S/SS: Safety; Strong Safety
      PK: Place kicker
      P: Punter

1. The end of college football season is marked by BCS Bowl games — the “playoffs” for college football. However, the selection process is a little different than other sports. Check out the selection reasoning here: BCS
2.  Still confused? Browse HowStuffWorks “American Football” for a more in-depth explanation: “American Football”
3. The most important part of football? Having fun! Okay, okay, that was lame. But really. You don’t have to know the injury history of every Pac 12 team roster to enjoy the game — just go out and have a great time. Go Card! (And yes, we did put 11 facts just to be cute.)

* The aforementioned Erin Andrews is a reporter (see her bio here: Erin Andrews) and co-host of ESPN’s College GameDay who also happens to look like a Victoria’s Secret model. In 2008, she had a super scary run-in with a stalker who put video cameras in her bathroom (read about it here: Andrews’ Stalker Arrested) and is now a spokesperson for victims of sexual assault and stalking. You may recognize her from her stint on “Dancing With the Stars” last year (she got third place!), or her reporting for ABC.