Rules review video: Onside drop-kicks, spitting, and a center catching a touchdown

2024 Media video #8

National coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw posted his weekly video breaking down rules and interpretations from week 7 of the college football season.

Prior to going through plays, Shaw discussed the new rule interpretation to eliminate a potential clock advantage for a fouling team.

• Interpretations. Shaw starts by discussing two plays. The first is a past example of the defense committing intentional holds to gain a clock advantage, which resulted in unsportsmanlike conduct and time put back on the clock. The second play is the one described in the new rule interpretation post. While these are different rules interpretations, they are both examples of the league preventing an advantage from fouling.
• Flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct. After an incomplete pass, the receiver spits on the defensive back who was covering him on the play. This was fouled as a flagrant unsportsmanlike act, which results in an immediate ejection, meaning the player must leave the bench area and go back to the locker room.
• Eligible receiver as the snapper. On a trick play, the quarterback takes the snap from #44, throws a backwards pass to a receiver, who then throws a touchdown to #44. This play was completely legal for the following reasons. First, the pass from the quarterback to receiver was backwards, so the receiver was allowed to throw a forward pass. Second, the offense was in a legal formation because they had no more than 4 backs, they had 5 players on the line numbered 50-79, and #44 was on the end of the offensive line with an eligible number.
• Onside drop-kick. The kicking team attempts an onside kick, which is legally recovered by the kicking team after the receiving team makes contact and muffs the original recovery. The kick was a drop-kick, which is a legal free kick.
• Momentum rule. The defense intercepts a pass at their own 3 yard line, and the defender’s momentum carries him into his own endzone. Though he returned the interception just to be safe, if the defender had taken a knee in his own endzone, it would not have been a safety. The momentum rule states that if the defense intercepts a pass inside their own 5 and their momentum takes them into the endzone where they are ruled down, the ball is returned to the spot of the interception.
• Pass interference in the endzone. Before going through this play, Shaw recaps the college defensive pass interference rules (which are different from the NFL’s). If the foul occurs less than 15 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage, the foul is enforced at the spot of the foul. If further than that, it is a maximum 15 yard penalty from the previous spot. If the line of scrimmage is between the opposing 17 and 2 yard line and the pass interference is in the endzone, the ball is placed at the two. On a snap from the opposing 11 yard line, the offense throws incomplete with a flag for defensive pass interference in the endzone. The ball was placed at the 2 yard line (moved up directly from the previous spot) with an automatic first down.