Posted on 09/18/2021 5:14:19 PM PDT by Right Wing Vegan
The Tigers led 21-17 in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs punted.
The ball was kept out of the end zone by one of the Mississippi State special teams players. Another thought he downed it inside the Memphis 10.
However, an alert Calvin Austin III picked up the ball and took off the other way. While one Mississippi State player congratulated another and an official looked like he was calling the play dead.
But …
Before Mississippi State knew it, Austin was in the end zone 94 yards later for a Memphis touchdown.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
The ball was downed.
OR……was it???
I think a player has to touch it.
Otherwise—it is a LOOSE football....
The second obviously touched it.
On a punt, the kicking team has to gain and maintain possession of the ball until the whistle blows. The returning team has a “free” play in the situation you see there, because the place where the ball was first touched is where the ball is spotted if the returning team picks up the ball and fumbles it.
Two Miss State players touched the ball. I guess there is no defense to bad officiating.
The player touched it, but didn’t hold on to it.
At about the 0:15 mark you can see the official toss a small marker on the ground where the ball is touched by the player from the kicking team. He does that to mark the location where the ball will be placed if the returning team tries to pick it up and fumbles it away.
It sure looks like it.
It was tapped, but not downed. The kid slapped it, and it rolled away, and they let it do so.
Thanks for the explanation. I thought it was downed as well.
Today Maine ran a blocked extra point back for 2 points.
Never heard of THAT before.
I think a player has to touch it.
After being touched by the kicking team, if not downed the receiving team can pick it up, and even if the receiving team were to fumble the worst that could happen would be that the ball would go back to the receiving team at that best location for the receiving team that the kicking team touched it.
The officiating was fine on that play. It’s the kicking team that botched it (though the first defender down made an excellent play to keep the ball from the endzone).
It’s like a 2-point try, except for the defense.
The ball had come to a complete stop and one official was already signaling clock stoppage for change of possession. He should have been blowing his whistle while signaling. Obvious official error.
Some years ago I saw a CFL game end that way under the most bizarre circumstance possible. One team scored a TD to tie the score with no time left on the clock, and the defending team returned the extra point attempt for two points with no time left in regulation.
Two players touched it, but none caught it or technically “had control” of it.
More bizarre play occurred on several “onside-kickoffs” near the end of the game. Entertaining.
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