Football | Breakdowns and Reports
Hudl Assist follows the rules and statistician manual of NCAA sports.
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Offense
Fumble
A fumble occurs when a member of the offensive team drops the football and does not pick it back up before the defense. Once the offense fumbles the ball, the defense will gain possession of the football from the spot of the fumble.
Motion Direction
Motion direction occurs when a player lines up in one spot and moves to another during the snap of the ball.
Rush
A run occurs when the ball carrier runs the ball down the field toward the opponent’s end zone until he is either pushed out of bounds, tackled or scores a touchdown.
Pass
A pass occurs when the quarterback throws or pitches the ball forward and down the field to another member of his team. A pass results in one of the following:
- Complete (caught by the offensive receiver)
- Incomplete (dropped/not caught by the offensive receiver)
- Intercepted (caught by the opposing team in the air)
Things to Note:
- A pass is a forward throwing of the ball.
- Anything thrown directly to the side or behind the release point of the ball (usually the quarterback) will not be considered a pass, but a run instead.
Play Direction
Play direction is the direction the play is moving from the center when the ball crosses the line of scrimmage. There are two directions a play can move.
Touchdown
A touchdown occurs when the offense runs or passes the football into the end zone. The offense is awarded 6 points for the touchdown. After scoring, the offense has a chance to kick an extra point (one point) through the goalpost or attempt a two-point conversion (two points). The offense must choose one or the other. After the extra point or two-point conversion, the scoring team will kick the ball off to the receiving team and normal play resumes. Although rare, a touchdown can also be scored by the defense (after an interception or fumble recovery) or special teams (returning a kickoff or punt).
2-Pt Conversion
This is an option a team has after they have scored a touchdown. Once a touchdown is scored, the offensive team has an opportunity to either try for one or two points. Trying for one point is known as an extra point, and they will attempt to kick the ball through the goalpost. Trying for two points is known as a 2 point conversion. They can either run or pass the ball as they attempt to get into the end zone.
Defense
Block
A block occurs when the defense stops an extra point, punt or field goal.
Interception
An interception occurs when the defense catches a pass thrown by the opposing quarterback.
Tackle
A tackle occurs when a defensive player brings the offensive player (who has the ball) to the ground. An offensive player is determined ‘down’ when his knee or elbow touches the ground.
Sack
A sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw or pass the football.
Special Teams
Downed
Downed occurs when a punt lands on the ground and the kicking team picks up or stops the ball before the team that is receiving the punt. The kicking team will try to down the ball as close to the opponent's end zone as possible.
Extra Point
This always occurs after a touchdown. After each touchdown, the offensive team will have the option of kicking an extra point or trying a 2-point conversion. One point is awarded for an extra point by kicking the football through the goalpost.
Fair Catch
A fair catch occurs when a member of the team that is receiving the kicked ball signals for a fair catch. Once the player who signals for the fair catch catches the ball, the play is over.
Fake Punt
This occurs when the offense lines up to punt the ball, but passes or runs the ball instead.
Field Goal
Occurs when the offense kicks the ball through the field goalposts for three points. A field goal typically occurs on the fourth down when the offense is within the range of the end zone but is not able to score a touchdown. This is the offense's last chance to score points before the ball is turned over to the defense.
Kickoff
This occurs at the start of the game, after halftime and each time a team scores a touchdown or field goal. For a kickoff, the ball is placed at the kicking team’s -40-yard line.
No Good
A no-good result occurs when the kicking team fails to kick the football through the goalposts when attempting a field goal or extra point. The referee will wave both arms in and out from their chest to signal "No Good" after a FG, extra point, or 2-point conversion attempt.
Onside Kick
An onside kick is an intentional short kick that travels forward a minimum of 10 yards. After the ball has traveled a minimum of 10 yards, the kicking team will attempt to recover the football before the receiving team.
Punt
A punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and kicking it before it touches the ground. The goal is to move the ball as far as possible toward the opponent's end zone. Punts are typically used on 4th downs.
Return
A return occurs when a player from the defensive team catches a kicked ball from the offensive team and runs the ball down the field toward the end zone.
Touchback
A touchback occurs when the football is kicked through the end zone or the ball is dead in the end zone.
Terms to Know
Distance
The distance column indicates how many yards the offense has left to gain a first down or score a touchdown. The first down of a drive will be described as "1st & 10". The "1st" indicates the down and the "10" indicates the distance to the first down. Together, this means the offense is on their first down and has 10 yards to go before gaining another first down.
Down
The down column indicates which down your team is on. In American football, the offense gets four downs to move a minimum of 10 yards. After 10 yards, the downs start over again and the offense must move another 10 yards. This process is repeated until the offense scores or loses possession of the ball.
Gain/Loss
This column shows the number of yards gained or lost on the play. If a player on the offensive team is able to move the ball five yards forward before getting tackled, the play results in a gain of five (5). If a player on the offensive team is tackled two yards behind where they started, the play results in a loss of two (-2). All values between -99 and 99 are available in this column.
Hash Marks
Hash indicates the part of the field where the play is starting or where the ball gets snapped. Hash marks are smaller white lines between the yard lines that run parallel to each other down the length of the field. Hash marks resemble a ladder on the field.
Out of Bounds
Out of bounds occurs when the ball lands outside of the white sidelines.
Penalty
A penalty occurs when there is a violation of the rules. This is indicated by flag and referee hand signals.
Timeout
A timeout is a temporary pause in the game. Each team gets three timeouts per half. A timeout can be called by the coach, quarterback, or linebacker.
Yard Line
In between goal lines, every 10 yards a solid white line runs from sideline to sideline and is numbered (i.e., 10, 20, 30, 40, etc.). This is the yard line.
Efficiency
We tag this to help teams identify what plays were efficient based on a predetermined calculation. It will be tagged as Yes or No.
- On first down, a play is efficient if it results in 40% or more yards toward a first down – four or more yards in a ten-yard situation.
- On second down, a play is efficient if it results in 50% or more yards to reach a first down.
- On third and fourth down, your team will need to get a first down (or a touchdown) for the play to be efficient.