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So as my first official blog post, I had to write about… you guessed it, FOOTBALL! I seriously cannot believe that we are already half way through the season! Good for us here in Texas, because its FINALLY starting to cool off *insert happy dance here*! I want to give y’all a quick guide to college football Saturdays.
SCORING
So, first things first, lets talk about scoring. I know some of y’all are like Caroline… come on, we know about scoring; but I want to start from the basics. The main way a team can score points is by scoring a touchdown. A touchdown is worth 6 points; but after the touchdown is scored, the team has the opportunity to: 1) kick for an extra point, or 2) go for a two-point conversion. A two-point conversion is where the scoring team tries to get in the end zone again by running a play from the three yard line. So, once you score a touchdown, you can either get 6, 7, or potentially 8 points. Most teams choose the safer option and kick the extra point, unless they are losing and need to utilize a two-point conversion to tie the game. Another way a team can score is by kicking a field goal, which is three points. A field goal is kicked when a team is on a fourth down, and there is no chance for a touchdown, but they are close enough to the upright (the tall yellow posts that are in the end zones) to kick the ball through. Field goal range is in college is usually around 30 yards, but some field goal kickers can make longer attempts.
WHAT’S A DOWN?
If you’re watching your team either on TV or in the stadium you will hear the announcer say the word “down”. So what exactly is a down?? The offensive team has four attempts to either: 1) score, or 2) gain 10 yards. Therefore, when you hear an announcer say your team got a first down, you cheer! This means they are making progress down the field. Here is an example: “THAT’S ANOTHER TCU FIRST DOWN”, and the crowd all cheers. Now you know why people are cheering when no one has scored!
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PENALTIES
So, now that we know how to score, and how to get a first down, lets talk about those little yellow flags that get thrown by the refs. These can either be a blessing or a curse to your team. Whew, okay this could take a while, so I am going to ease y’all into this.
-When the players are on the line of scrimmage (where the players are lined up face to face before the play starts) here are some of the reasons a yellow flag or penalty flag can be thrown: a false start, delay of game, or offsides. A false start is exactly what it sounds like (kind of like in track when a runner moves before the gun is fired) a player on the offensive moves before the play has started. Offsides is when a defensive player moves before the play has started. Lastly, a delay of game is when the center (the big boy in the center of the offensive line that has the ball and hikes it to the quarterback) doesn’t hike/give the ball to the QB before the play clock gets to zero.
-Holding and pass interference are some other reasons a team can get a penalty. Holding is just what it sounds like, it occurs when a player holds another player and prevents them from moving, and that player doesn’t have the ball. This is usually an offensive player holding a defensive player from moving. Next is a pass interference penalty. This usually occurs when a defensive player doesn’t give the offensive player a chance to catch the ball. The defensive player does this by holding onto the offensive player’s jersey, or making contact with the player before they have touched the ball. Y’all, I am not kidding, there are so many ways to get a penalty, but these are the main ones.
-So what happens when you get a penalty or a yellow flag?? If the offense gets a penalty, they will lose yardage, or they will move further away from the end zone than they already are. If the defense gets a penalty, then the offense will gain yardage or move closer to the end zone.
Well guys, if you made it to the end of this post, WAHOOO! You did it! I know that was a lot of information, but I hope that helps a little bit for this weekend’s games. If you get anything out of this post, I want you to remember this: its okay to ask questions!! There are times where I am like “what the heck just happened!” and that’s okay! Stay tuned for next week, with a whole post on penalties and the hand gestures the referees make. If you don’t get it yet, I promise we will all get there together. If y’all want to shop my game day looks click on the links above. I hope you guys have a great Tuesday!!
