college question

[Hampton Roads 6]

Team A kicks off to team B. Team B return man fields ball on 6 yard line and starts up field . at about the 15 yeard line he sees the "headhunter" coming, gets scared and throws ball away. Team A player picks up ball and runs into end zone. what's the call ? Is the ball "live" ?
This post was edited on 9/28 9:59 AM by Hampton Roads 6

 

[FBRef]

WHich way did he throw it?

 

[knightsfan96]

And which endzone?

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

He threw it to another player about 10 yards across the field to his right. I think ball should be treated same as a fumble. i.e. "live ball"

 

[White hat]

If he threw it forward it's an illegal forward pass. If he threw it backward it's a fumble.

 

[FBRef]

Originally posted by Hampton Roads 6:
He threw it to another player about 10 yards across the field to his right. I think ball should be treated same as a fumble. i.e. "live ball"

Let's try again.

Which way did he throw it? Forwards or backwards?

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

he threw it sideways. he was just trying to get rid of ball to avoid getting hit. a flag was thrown on play, and the TD was dis-allowed. I have talked to coaches involved, the player involved and even one of the officials involved. I still cannot understand why it wasn't a "live ball", since it occurred on the kickoff. if it had been from line of scrimmage it would be easy to figure out. If the flag was for illegal pass, looks like kickoff coverage team could have declined penalty.

 

[White hat]

Remember forward can be anywhere in the 180 degrees that is in the direction of the opponent's goal line, and backward is anywhere in the 180 degrees toward his own goal line. If it was thrown sideways, it must have been ever-so-slightly forward, in which case it's an incomplete forward pass that also happens to be an illegal forward pass. incomplete forward passes are dead, anytime, anywhere. No exception is made for kickoff returns. If it was directly to the side or ever so slightly backward it would be a live ball.

 

[FBRef]

Originally posted by Hampton Roads 6:
If the flag was for illegal pass, looks like kickoff coverage team could have declined penalty.

If an illegal forward pass hits the ground, it's an incomplete pass. The ball is dead and anything else that happens doesn't matter. The ball is coming back from the spot the pass was thrown from.