In football, a touchdown is the largest scoring goal. Players carry the ball or catch a pass into the end zone. A touchdown is scored when the ball crosses the plane of the opponent’s goal line. One point is awarded for a touchdown, but teams can also attempt to score an extra point. These attempts, called extra points, net an additional one or two points. If the offense manages to score a touchdown, they win the game.
A fumble occurs when a player drops the ball before being tackled. The ball may be recovered by any team member. The player may dive on the ball or run with it to gain possession of it. A fumble is usually worth two points and a safety occurs on a pass play when the quarterback is sacked before he can throw. The ball may also be turned over accidentally by an offensive player. This can happen on a number of different occasions, and in these cases, the defense may advance the ball until the ball carrier is tackled.
A game of football begins with a kickoff. In this situation, a tee with a small ovoid ball is placed at the 35-yard line. A placekicker (a special player) kicks the ball to the team on the other side. Any offensive player will try to catch the ball. When the kicker reaches the end zone, he has two choices: he may either run the ball away from the end zone, or he may kneel in the end zone and signal a touchback. The game will then resume from this point.
A football game is divided into four quarters. The first half of the game lasts for one hour, with breaks at the halfway point and the third quarter lasting two minutes. In college and high school football, the game is played over a field that is approximately 100 yards long by 53 1/3 yards wide. In order to score, a team must move the ball forward ten yards. This is done by running the ball until it is tackled or passing it downfield.
A football play ends when the ball is downed on the field or out of bounds. The offense then has four downs to move the ball closer to the end zone. If it moves the ball successfully, they are awarded a first down, but if they do not, they will lose possession of the ball. On the other hand, a team can also intentionally punt the ball to the other team. A successful move gives the offense the opportunity to score, and a touchdown is the goal.
The aim of a football game is to score more goals than the opponent over the course of 90 minutes. A standard match consists of two 45-minute halves, with fifteen minutes between them. The first half is played without a stoppage for injury or illness, and the second half begins with fifteen minutes of injury time. A game may end in a tie, and penalties are used to decide who is the winner. Once the game is tied, the teams change ends and play resumes again after a specified restart.