Fumbling out of the endzone

[hawkfan340]

I know it benefited us this weekend, but I don't get the spirit of this rule. If you fumble out of bounds at the 50, you keep the ball, but if you drive down the the half yard line and fumble out of bounds the opposition gets the ball plus they get about 20 yards? Why?

 

[briankaldenberg]

A rule that makes no sense. Ball should be placed at the 1.

 

[LG210]

A rule that makes no sense. Ball should be placed at the 1.

The two rules certainly seem to be inconsistent, but why do you think the non-endzone fumble out of bounds rule is preferable to the endzone fumble out of bounds rule?

The endzone fumble out of bounds rule actually makes more sense than allowing an offense to retain the ball when fumbling out of bounds in the non-endzone area of the field, does it not? It rewards the defense and punishes the offense when neither is able to recover the ball within the field of play. A fumble is a free ball, why punish the defense when it is not recovered in the field of play by either team? It is the offense that made a mistake.

Haven't really thought this through, but upon first glance, those are my thoughts.

 

[DJL]

The two rules certainly seem to be inconsistent, but why do you think the non-endzone fumble out of bounds rule is preferable to the endzone fumble out of bounds rule?

The endzone fumble out of bounds rule actually makes more sense than allowing an offense to retain the ball when fumbling out of bounds in the non-endzone area of the field, does it not? It rewards the defense and punishes the offense when neither is able to recover the ball within the field of play. A fumble is a free ball, why punish the defense when it is not recovered in the field of play by either team? It is the offense that made a mistake.

Haven't really thought this through, but upon first glance, those are my thoughts.

I agree with this, and it makes me wonder if there should be a rule that moves the ball back 10 yards for a fumble out of bounds in the non-endzone area.

 

[hawkfan340]

I agree with this, and it makes me wonder if there should be a rule that moves the ball back 10 yards for a fumble out of bounds in the non-endzone area.

Actually that would be a great rule. Offense keeps the ball, but it's a 10 yard penalty from the spot of the foul and a loss of down.

And then enforce it consistently whether out of the endzone or at the fifty.

Fumbling out of your own endzone would be a safety.

 

[urohawk]

I think the reason for the difference is to make offensive players at least think twice about stretching the ball out to score a touchdown.

I actually agree with the previous poster...I would like to see the rule changed that in order for an offense to retain possession they have to recover it inbounds. It would put more of a premium on ball security for wide receivers.

 

[CP87]

Kind of tangential, but did anyone notice that McNutt also fumbled short of the goal-line and had the ball hit the pylon on the jail-break screen he took to the 2? Luckily he stepped out of bounce right before the ball came loose, otherwise Iowa would have been the ones getting shafted by this rule.

 

[JoeHawkGuy]

The ball was considered in the endzone and then out of bounds. Thats why it is a touchback. It was not on the 1/2 yard line. They can't give the offense a touchdown because they didn't have control of the ball when it touched the goal line marker (considered part of the endzone) and then went out of bounds. So it is a touchback.

 

[hawkfan340]

Kind of tangential, but did anyone notice that McNutt also fumbled short of the goal-line and had the ball hit the pylon on the jail-break screen he took to the 2? Luckily he stepped out of bounce right before the ball came loose, otherwise Iowa would have been the ones getting shafted by this rule.

I did notice that. This sort of thing seems to happen a lot when guys are reaching for the pylon. I always breath a sigh of relief when it doesn't bite us in the a$$, but I feel that time is coming.

 

[hawkfan340]

The ball was considered in the endzone and then out of bounds. Thats why it is a touchback. It was not on the 1/2 yard line. They can't give the offense a touchdown because they didn't have control of the ball when it touched the goal line marker (considered part of the endzone) and then went out of bounds. So it is a touchback.

I understand what the rule is, I just don't understand the spirit of the rule.

 

[DJL]

Actually that would be a great rule. Offense keeps the ball, but it's a 10 yard penalty from the spot of the foul and a loss of down.

And then enforce it consistently whether out of the endzone or at the fifty.

Fumbling out of your own endzone would be a safety.

Somebody needs to contact the NCAA and get this changed right away!

 

[jkriv]

Somebody needs to contact the NCAA and get this changed right away!

It really is a strange rule... Its just one of those rules that is what it is! Why is a field goal worth 3 points? What if the fg is shorter than a PAT in yardage? Shouldnt it only be 1?

I know the fumbling out of end zone rule is strange but it sure does make the game more interesting! As we found out!

 

[pmchawk]

I think it may also be to have players think twice before intentionally fumbling if you are being tacked near the endzone. *shrug*

 

[jkriv]

I think it may also be to have players think twice before intentionally fumbling if you are being tacked near the endzone. *shrug*

I dont think so beacuse this would warrant a penalty sort of like when a player intentionally kicks a ball forward for extra yardage.

 

[pmchawk]

if a player is good enough you can make it not look intentional.

kind of like my basketball pump fake from 12 years ago. I could sell it to the point the refs always called me for traveling even though my feet never left the floor.

 

[PJHawk]

I know it benefited us this weekend, but I don't get the spirit of this rule. If you fumble out of bounds at the 50, you keep the ball, but if you drive down the the half yard line and fumble out of bounds the opposition gets the ball plus they get about 20 yards? Why?

You question is based a false premise, the Purdue QB Marve was fumbling as he hit the pylon, he did not fumble "out of bounds", he fumbled into the pylon, which is the end zone, thus causing a touch back to be enforced.

 

[hawkfan340]

You question is based a false premise, the Purdue QB Marve was fumbling as he hit the pylon, he did not fumble "out of bounds", he fumbled into the pylon, which is the end zone, thus causing a touch back to be enforced.

The rule is that if it's fumbled out of bounds beyond the goalline (i.e. in the endzone) it's a touchback for the opposing team. The pylon is the intersection of the goaline and the boundary of the field of play. So, he fumbled out of bounds in the end zone. It didn't really matter that it hit the pylon. It could have rolled 3-4 yards into the endzone and then out of bounds and the ruling would have been the same.

Anyway, I was questioning the spirit of the rule. Why give the ball to the opposition instead of the offense retaining at the point of fumble? It's a bit inconsistent with the rules for a fumble at midfield.

 

[ICHawk24]

For those of you who want the rule changed...

If the offense fumbles it out of their own end zone, why is it a safety? Why not just give the offense the ball on the one?

I like the current rule.

 

[LG210]

For those of you who want the rule changed...

If the offense fumbles it out of their own end zone, why is it a safety? Why not just give the offense the ball on the one?

I like the current rule.

I think that most of the folks arguing for a rule change are arguing for some sort of penalty in non-endzone fumble situations in which the ball goes out of bounds (whether a yardage penalty or loss of possession). In other words, they are looking to make the non-edzone situations more similar to the endzone situations, not the other way around.

 

[uihawk82]

The fumbled ball touchback rule may date way back to when the ball actually had to be touched to the ground in the end zone to be awarded a touchdown. Not sure if it comes from some early rugby type rules, etc. I think the current rule is perfectly correct and you cant always reward the offense. The out of bounds sideline from goal line to goal line is part of the field and you can spot the ball. One could say the endzone is not part of the scrimmage part of the field and you have to have possession of the ball into the end zone. Just giving the offense the ball at the one yard line for fumbling into and out of the endzone is really arbitrary.