If there is one part of a football game where anything can happen (and often does) it is the kicking game. Here are a few play situations to test your knowledge of NCAA football rules.
Play One — The punt from midfield goes through the hands of the receiver at the 12-yard line. The loose ball rolls into the end zone where he picks it up. He starts to run it out, but seeing that he is going to be tackled tries to throw a backward pass to a teammate. The pass is forward and incomplete. What is the result of this play?
Answer — This is an illegal pass. The penalty is 5 yards from the spot of the foul in the end zone. So the result of the play is a safety. If he had “taken a knee” and “downed” the football in the end zone, the result would have been a touchback.
Play Two — During a punt from midfield, a defender holds a kicking team player at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. The punt is caught at the 10-yard line and the receiver advances to the 25-yard line where he is tackled. What is the result of this play?
Answer — Since the foul occurred during the punt and more than 3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, the penalty will be administered from the end of the kick. This is called post-scrimmage kick enforcement. It will be first and 10 for the receiving team at its own 5-yard line.
Play Three — On fourth down from its own 35-yard line, the offense lines up in punt formation. The snap bounces back to the punter who picks up the loose ball and scrambles to avoid the rush. He runs beyond the line of scrimmage to the 38-yard line and kicks the football. The punted football rolls out of bounds at the opponent’s 30-yard line. What is the result of this play?
Answer — This is an illegal kick for kicking from beyond the line of scrimmage. The play should be whistled dead by the officials. The penalty is 5 yards from the previous spot and loss of down. It will be first and 10 for the defensive team at the 30-yard line.
Play Four — On fourth down from his own 40-yard line, the punter receives the snap and runs several steps to his right outside the tackle box and kicks the football “rugby” style. Immediately as he kicks the football, he is hit and knocked down by a rusher who did not touch the football. What is the result of this play?
Answer — The punter loses his protection when he does a rugby-style kick. There is no foul on this play.
Lee Grace is a member of the Texas Association of Sports Officials. E-mail your rules questions to him at email@example.com.