You don't have to sit in the stands looking dazed and confused the whole game.

I know it’s fun to ask the frat boys what’s going on during the game and how many baskets we’ve scored. Though some might think it’s cute, most would prefer you to be able to yell at the refs alongside them. Here's a quick run-through.

• There are 11 players on the field. It might throw you off since there are roughly 100 giant men on the sideline, but only 11 play at a time.
• There is an offense who carries the ball (the hot quarterback is on offense), and there is a defense (they stop the other team’s hot quarterback). 
• There are 4 quarters in a game. You don’t have to leave at halftime to redo your hair for the post-game party...there’s still half a game left. 
• They aren’t making a mistake when the clock is still running but the playing has stopped. The clock only stops at the end of incomplete passing plays, when a player goes out of bounds or when a penalty is called. 
• Each time the offense gets the ball, they get 4 downs (chances) to gain 10 yards. After they gain the 10 yards, they get 4 more downs. If they fail to get the 10 yards, they lose possession of the ball. If they get to fourth down and still haven’t made 10 yards, they will usually punt (kick it) to make the other team start further back on the field. 
• There are 4 ways to score points:   

Touchdown- 6 points. This is when everyone starts cheering and you start hugging everyone near you out of pure joy. 

Extra Point/Two-Point Conversion- After the touchdown, the team has two options: they can either kick the ball through the goal posts for one point, or they can do a more daring option and go for two points by throwing or running the ball into the endzone.

Field Goal- 3 points. If the offense can’t quite make it down the field for a touchdown, they may try to kick a goal. 

Safety- 2 points. This happens when the person with the ball on the offense is tackled behind his own goal line. ·

• The ball can be intercepted by the defense when the offense is throwing it. If you’ve ever been confused why suddenly the other color uniform has the ball, this is probably what happened. 
• Offside is not what you tell your hairstylist, it’s when a player is on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage (invisible line where the boys line up facing each other) when the ball is snapped.

So there you have it, ladies. Read up, and do all of us men a favor: try to refrain from commenting on how tight the players' pants are.