Most of my friends know that when September rolls around, DO NOT CALL ME FOR RELATIONSHIP ADVICE, SPA DATES, SHOPPING TRIPS, OR BEACH EXCURSIONS.
In fact, if the 2-time National BCS Champion LSU Tigers are playing…I’m just gonna turn my phone off.
None of my friends really like college football (hmm…must re-evaluate friendships JK). And none of them get why I love it so much.
I think it all goes back to growing up:
*most of my friends were guys, I was quirky, goofy, and nerdy. We always watched sports together.
*my dad wanted 2 boys, but had 2 girls…however, that didn’t stop him from sharing his love of sports with us
*I went to 3 different colleges (LSU, UGA, and Clemson), 5 if you count 2 year schools.
I was fortunate to experience the pride, tradition, and legacy carried on throughout colleges (tailgating, school rivalries, fight songs, etc). This is part of what makes college fooball so exciting.
The college guys play with extreme heart and passion and much less ego and attitude as seen in NFL.
If you’ve never been into college football, but your kids are, it’s time to get on board mommies!!!
Here is some VERY BASIC football info just to get you started. I promise it really is much more exciting than folding laundry and changing diapers…So GET WITH THE PROGRAM!
THE BASICS
*2 teams in each game: Home and Visitor (hopefully this is self explanatory…if not, just stop reading now…you are a lost cause)
* 11 players are always on the field for each team
*Offense- the guys with the ball trying to score
*Defense- the guys trying to stop the offense from scoring
*There are 4 15-minute quarters in a game, they are broken into 2 halfs. After the first 2 quarters (1st half), there is a halftime break. This is when the band comes out on the field and everyone usually goes to the bathroom. UNLESS, you are at a HBCU in which the band is typically a greater attraction than the game…this is a whole nother story though. Don’t think the game will only last an hour…factor in timeouts, play challenges, injuries, and general goofing off .
*At the end of 4 quarters, whoever has the most points wins (W) and the other team loses (L). In the event of a tie, the game goes to overtime to determine a winner.
Football is really confusing to me and I generally ignore all the nit-picky boring stuff like downs, yards, penalties, flags, punts…*YAWN*. Here’s the fun stuff in football I love:
COOL STUFF
*Mascot- a symbol, animal, or person who represents a college team
*Touchdown- the offense scores and gets 6 points
*Extra points- after a touchdown a field goal gets 1 point, or 2 points are earned for a conversion (it’s kinda like a lil baby touchdown where they run or throw it in the end zone).
*Field goal kick- these are actually kinda boring, but a team earns 3 points for one of these and they are normally kicked as opposed to getting a touchdown.
*Interception- an oopsie…a pass thrown to the offense that the other team (defense) catches.
*Fumble- the offense goofs up and fumbles/drops the ball. If the defense recovers, they gain control of the ball and put their offense in to try and score.
*Sack- the quarterback is tackled by the defense before he gets rid of the ball
FAVE POSITIONS
Umm…I’m referring to players on the field
*Quarterback- the guy who leads the offense and distributes the ball. Duh…ok, we have all heard of the QB (it is not a refund)
*Wide Receiver- tall, fast guy who catches the ball for touchdowns
*Running Back- short, fast guy who runs the ball for touchdowns
*Cornerback- usually the fastest guy on defense, they guard the wide receivers and try and stop them from scoring (shout out to Patrick Peterson, one of my favorite college CBs).
*Defensive End- one of the fastest big guys…he usually rushes the quarterback
*Safety- Farthest on defense from the line of scrimmage. Covers the open field from long passes.
*Punt Returner- guy who catches a punt and tries to get upfield for a touchdown/good field position
Here’s a cute lil chart that gives you a visual of all the positions:
Southeastern Conference (SEC)*Eastern Division Florida Georgia Kentucky Missouri South Carolina Tennessee Vanderbilt *Western Division Alabama Arkansas Auburn LSU Mississippi Mississippi St Texas A&M Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) *Atlantic Division Boston College Clemson Florida St Maryland North Carolina St Wake Forest *Coastal Division Duke Georgia Tech Miami FL North Carolina Virginia Virginia Tech Big 10 Conference *Leaders Division Illinois Indiana Ohio State Penn State Purdue Wisconsin *Legends Division Iowa Michigan Michigan St Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Big 12 Conference Iowa St Kansas Kansas St Baylor Oklahoma Oklahoma St Texas Texas Tech Big East Conference Cincinnati Connecticut Louisville Pittsburgh Rutgers South Florida Syracuse West Virginia Conference USA *East Division Alabama-Birmingham Central Florida East Carolina Marshall Memphis Southern Miss *West Division Houston Rice SMU Tulane Tulsa UTEP Mid-American Conference *East Division Akron Bowling Green Buffalo Kent St Miami OH Ohio U. Temple *West Division Ball St Central Michigan Eastern Michigan Northern Illinois Toledo Western Michigan Mountain West Conference Air Force Boise St Colorado St New Mexico San Diego St TCU UNLV Wyoming Pacific 12 Conference (PAC 12) *North Division California Oregon Oregon St Stanford Washington Washington St *South Division Arizona Arizona St Colorado Southern Cal UCLA Utah Sun Belt Conference Arkansas St Florida Atlantic Florida Int'l Louisiana-Lafayette Louisiana-Monroe Middle Tennessee St North Texas Troy Western Kentucky Western Athletic Conference Fresno St Hawai`i Idaho Louisiana Tech New Mexico St Nevada San José St Utah St Football Bowl Division Independents Army Brigham Young Navy Notre Dame
If you wanna watch good football, check out any SEC game.
The SEC has won 6 consecutive BCS titles and will go for their 7th title this year.
Bank on LSU. IJS 
My husband thanks you!
Always happy to help. Hope you’re enjoying college football.
This is a great start. I hope you do a follow up with some more of the rules and positions. That will save me time from explaining to my wife. Thanks HM!
I probably won’t do a follow up on the rules, there are so many they give me a headache. But I love doing follow ups on how great a season LSU is having!!!!
I have 3 football playing boys so none of this is new to me but great to get the others in the no. One thing, the Pac 12 will kick the SEC butt anyday!!! XOXO
Oh, you Pac 12 dreamers are so cute!!! lol Hope your 3 boys are enjoying football.
This wasn’t slightly bias or anything. I’m guessing you r a LSU fan?
Hahahaha…come on, everyone knows LSU and the SEC ARE college football.
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