Basic rules of college football including penalties.
American football is one of the biggest pastimes in the United States. The sport has become important to many people both on the college level and on the professional level. Scouts even begin looking at players on the high school level in anticipation of them playing professional football some day. The rules for each level of play vary slightly, though. Here are the rules for college football.
Much like professional football, the field is 100 yards long with the 50 yard line being the center of the field. The field is then marked off in 10 yard increments from either side of the 50 yard line all the way down to the goal line (which would be 0 yards). The end zones are then beyond each goal line. There are then hash marks across the yard lines to mark ball placement. There are two of them, each being 60 feet from the side lines. There are also H shaped pipes in the end zone. These goal posts are used to kick extra points (which takes place after a team scores a touch down) or for kicking field goals (when a team is close enough, but fails to get a touch down). Each team has possession of half the field and they alternate every 15 minutes of play.
There is a coin toss at the beginning of the game to determine which team will do the kicking and which will receive. They do the opposite after half time. The coin toss also determines who will have which side of the field. The game is split up into 15 minute quarters. After each quarter, the teams switch sides and play continues. There is also a 20 minute half time between the second and third quarters.
At the beginning of the game, after half time, and after every score, there is a kick-off. The team doing the kick-off at the beginning is determined by the coin toss. The half time kick-off is the opposite. After scoring, the team that scored the points will do the kicking. This takes place from the 35 yard line of the team kicking. The ball is placed on a tee and the kicker kicks it down field to the other team. One player on that team catches it. He will either raise his hand prior to catching it to signal a fair catch (the play stops there and no one can tackle him) or he will catch the ball and run it back as far as he can. If the ball is kicked into the end zone, the player may kneel down to signal a touchback. This means that play will begin from the 20 yard line.
The offense (team with the ball) will then have 4 plays called downs to move the ball forward 10 yards. After each 10 yards, the team will get a new set of downs. A play is over when the ball is stopped either by a tackle or when the player's knee goes down or when there is an incomplete pass. Teams will generally only use the first 3 downs to try to make the 10 yards. If they have not gone 10 yards in 3 downs, they will most likely punt the ball to the other team. This involves the ball being tossed to the punter, who will then kick the ball to the other team. Touchbacks are valid at this point as well. If they have a short way to go to get the 10 yards on a 4th down and they are losing, a team will often opt to "go for it" and try to make one more play. If they fail, the other team gets the ball at that point. Also, if the offense is close enough to the end zone, they will often opt to kick a field goal for 3 points instead.
Scoring is the main objective of the game. When a player enters the end zone, it is worth 6 points. The team then has the option to either kick the extra point, which is a short field goal, or they can run a normal play for 2 points. This will make the entire touch down worth anywhere from 6-8 points depending on the outcome of the extra point or two point conversion. Kicking a field goal is worth 3 points as previously mentioned. If a quarterback or running back is tackled in their own end zone (not the one that they would score a touch down in), then this is called a safety. A safety is worth 2 points for the defense and also gives the defense the ball via a kick off.
During play, each team has 11 players on the field. The offensive team will most often meet in a huddle prior to each play to decide what play to do. If time is short and the team is behind, they will often skip the huddle to save time. Teams must stay on their side of the line of scrimmage (the place where the ball is located for the play) until the play begins. The play begins when the quarterback calls the play and the center snaps the ball to the quarterback. The quarterback will then either pass the ball or hand it to the running back while the defense tries to stop the play from progressing. The offense has 25 seconds to start a new play after the last one or they will have to use a time out.
The defense will try to stop the play in a number of ways. They can either sack the quarterback which means tackling the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage while he still has the ball. They can also block a pass with their hands. If the ball is thrown and one of the defensive players catches it, it is called an interception and the defense then becomes the offense. In a rushing play, if the running back drops the ball prior to his knee touching the ground, this is considered a fumble and whoever recovers the ball gets to keep it.
Penalties also play a big role in the game of football. Penalties are signaled by the referees by throwing out a yellow flag. Here are some of the penalties in college football:
* Illegal Procedure-an offensive lineman moved prior to the play, a receiver in motion did move parallel to the line of scrimmage, or the quarterback threw a pass beyond the line of scrimmage
* Ineligible Receiver Downfield-an offensive lineman was too far past the line of scrimmage when a pass was thrown
* Delay of Game-taking more than 25 seconds to start a play
* Grounding the Ball-the quarterback throws the ball just to avoid being sacked
* Off-sides-a defensive player moved across the line of scrimmage prior to a play starting and touched an offensive player or failed to get back before the play began
* Clipping, Illegal Block, Chop Block-blocking a player from the back which can result in injury
* Pass Interference-grabbing or tackling a receiver when the ball is in the air. The defender must wait until the pass arrives and may try to catch it himself.
* Unnecessary Roughness, Roughing the Passer, Roughing the Kicker-tackling someone after he has gotten rid of the ball or the play is over.
* Facemask-grabbing someone's facemask during a tackle
* Unsportsmanlike Conduct-behaving in a poor manner
The team which the penalty is against can then decide whether or not to accept the penalty. If the consequences of the penalty put them in a more favorable situation, they will accept the penalty. If the result of the play was more favorable, they will decline the penalty. If both teams receive a penalty on the same play, the penalties offset and play resumes from the last spot. The maximum penalty is half the distance to the goal, so if the team is 5 yards from the goal and the defense receives a penalty of 5 yards, then the penalty is reduced to 2 ½ yards.
Throughout the game, the clock is stopped frequently. It is stopped most often for incomplete passes or when a player runs out of bounds with the ball. The clock is also stopped briefly before each first down so the chains can be moved to signify where the team must progress to get a new set of downs. Each team is also given 3 time-outs per half. These can be used at any time to stop the clock for a couple minutes and discuss strategy. The offense will often use incomplete passes and running out of bounds in the last two minutes to stop the clock and save time. There is no two minute warning in college football.
College football is very similar to professional football. In fact, there are very few differences. The rules of football can sometimes be somewhat complicated, but once you are used to them, it all comes easily.
