Object of the Game In the most simplistic sense, football is a strategic battle to move the ball into the opponents’ goal area called the endzone for a touchdown (a.k.a. the primary point). A secondary point is earned after each touchdown by kicking the ball through a goalpost or advancing the ball into the endzone [...]
The Playing Field and the Ball The football playing field is rectangular in shape, measuring 100 yd (91.4 m) long and 53.5 yd (48.9 m) wide. At both ends of the 100-yard dimension, white lines called goal lines mark off the entrances to the end zones. Each team defends one end zone. A team must [...]
Vince Lombardi Trophy When the AFL and NFL agreed that they would merge into a single league in 1971, they also agreed to begin playing a championship game after the 1966 season. Formally called the AFL-NFL Championship, it was soon nicknamed the Super bowl. According to one story, a team owner who thought the formal [...]
TWO SYSTEMS / TWO METHODS: My original system, CPA Rankings, uses victory margins; CPA Retrodiction Rankings does not use victory margins and it meets all of the publicly-stated requirements for computer ranking systems for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). CPA Rankings is primarily a predictive system that has some retrodictive characteristics. CPA Retrodiction is primarily [...]
It was the flying wedge, football’s major offense in 1905, that spurred the formation of the NCAA. The game’s rugged nature, typified by mass formations and gang tackling, resulted in numerous injuries and deaths and prompted many institutions to discontinue the sport. Others urged that football be reformed or abolished from intercollegiate athletics. President Theodore [...]