Exploration by Morgan Guest
Is there any merit to some football commentators' argument to taking a penalty in order to have a "better angle" on the field goal?
In college football, the hashmarks are placed 40 ft apart and the goal posts are 18 ft 6 in apart.
Click here for the gsp file.
The angle gets smaller as the placement moves further away from the goal. Therefore, if the kicking team takes a pentaly, the angle is actually worse. In concusion, it does not make sense for the the kicking team to take a 5 yard penalty because it does not create a better angle.
Click here to see a gsp file of a high school football field.
In high school football, the hashmarks are placed 53 ft 4 in apart and the goal posts are 23 ft 4 in apart. The angle still only gets smaller as the kicker moves further away from the goal posts, so it still does not make sense for the kicking team to take a 5 yard penatly because it does not create a better angle.
