kickoff/rules question

[dagdaj]

Keep your flames to yourself since this is undoubtably a repost of a question.

I don't care if this has come up, I'm not digging back 4 pages to look for it or through 40 pages of the game thread.......it takes 10 minutes just to get logged into this heap.

On that Iowa kickoff, Northwestern fields it from the endzone, but it looks like he reaches across the line and pulls it back into the endzone. I'm thinking that's a safety.

I'm no rules guy. Just wondering.

 

[ICHawk24]

Bump. Anyone know the answer to this? I just got home from the game, and watched for this play on the DVR recording. NW clearly attempts to field the ball inside the end zone, drops it, it rolls to be half out of the end zone and half on the goal line. Returner picks it up and downs it in the end zone. Safety?

 

[99topdawg]

Had he pulled it across the goal line, it would have been a safety. The official must have that part of the ball was in the end zone. Only part of the ball has to be in the end zone for it to be considered "in". On the other side of that, if someone was trying to run it out of the end zone on a play from scrimmage, only part of the ball has to be across the line for it to be considered "out" of the end zone.

 

[ICHawk24]

So the back half of the ball being still on the goal line means the ball is considered to still be in the end zone? Thanks for the clarification.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Dude was in the endzone - ball did not fully leave endzone - not a safety. NU won the game and is the better program in all respects - deal with it.

 

[99topdawg]

So the back half of the ball being still on the goal line means the ball is considered to still be in the end zone? Thanks for the clarification.

The goal line is considered part of the end zone. Just as the pylons are considered out of bounds in the end zone.

 

[stlrnhwk]

there was a play when i thought the NW player touched the ball before it went into the endzone and they still let him cover it up and get it at the 20, i thought that should have been a safety, but i'm not clear on the rule

 

[silvanthalas]

there was a play when i thought the NW player touched the ball before it went into the endzone and they still let him cover it up and get it at the 20, i thought that should have been a safety, but i'm not clear on the rule

At the time that happened, Griese said on the broadcast that if momentum carries the ball into the end zone on a kickoff, even if it's touched, it can still be downed like that.