American Football NCAA Approved Ruling 7-3-2

American Football NCAA Approved Ruling 7-3-2

I. Quarterback A10, who is not outside the tackle box and is attempting to save yardage, intentionally throws a desperation forward pass that falls incomplete where there is no eligible Team A receiver. RULING: Intentional grounding. Penalty—Loss of down at the spot of the foul. The clock starts on the snap (Rule 3-3-2-d-4) unless Rule 3-4-4 applies.

II. Late in either half with more than one minute remaining, A10 is unable to locate an open receiver. To conserve time, he throws a forward pass that is incomplete where there is no eligible Team A player. RULING: Illegal forward pass, intentional grounding. Penalty—Loss of down at the spot of the foul. The clock will start on the ready-for-play signal (Rule 3-3-2-e-14 and 3-4-3).

III. On third down near the end of either half, potential field goal holder A4 muffs the snap and A4 or potential kicker A3 recovers the ball and immediately throws it forward to the ground. RULING: Illegal forward pass for intentional grounding; not a valid attempt to conserve time. Penalty—Loss of down at the spot of the foul. 10-second runoff option for Team B (Rule 3-4-4). Clock starts on the ready-for-play signal (Rules 3-3-2-e-14 and 3-4-3) if the 10-second runoff is accepted.

IV. The ball is snapped over the head of quarterback A12, who is in the “shotgun’’ formation. A12 recovers the ball and immediately throws it forward to the ground. RULING: Illegal forward pass for intentional grounding; not a valid attempt to conserve time. Penalty—Loss of down at the spot of the foul. Clock starts on the ready-for-play signal (Rules 3-3- 2-e-14 and 3-4-3).

V. On third down near the end of the half, A1 muffs the snap. A1 or A4 catches the muffed ball and immediately throws it forward into the ground. RULING: Legal play.

VI. On third down near the end of the half, A1—positioned seven yards behind the snapper—catches the snap and immediately throws the ball forward to the ground. RULING: Legal play.

VII. With seconds remaining in a half and the ball ready for play, Team A quickly lines up and the ball is legally snapped to quarterback A12, who throws the ball forward directly to the ground. Team A’s formation was not legal at the snap. When the ball becomes dead, two seconds show on the game clock. RULING: Illegal formation. Penalty—Five yards from the previous spot. The clock starts on the snap.

VIII. Quarterback A10 sprints toward a sideline and is outside the tackle box when he throws a legal forward pass that is batted down by a defensive lineman and lands behind the neutral zone. RULING: Legal play. Without the batting the ball would have landed beyond the neutral zone, so A10 has satisfied the spirit of the rule.

IX. Third and 5 at the A-40. QB A12 drops back in the pocket to pass. Under a heavy rush he throws a backward pass to back A22 who carries the ball outside the tackle box. About to be tackled, A22 at the A-35 throws a forward pass that crosses the neutral zone and lands in an area 20 yards away from the nearest Team A eligible receiver. RULING: Foul, intentional grounding. The tackle-box rule exception applies only to the player who controls the snap or the resulting backward pass. Loss of down at the spot of the foul. Fourth and 10 at the A-35. (Rule 7-3-2-h-Exc.)

X. Quarterback A12 is in a shotgun formation. He muffs the backward pass from the snapper and the ball is picked up by A63 inside the tackle box. Under a heavy rush, A63 gets outside the tackle box and throws the ball incomplete beyond the line of scrimmage. RULING: Legal play. A63 controlled the backward pass that resulted from the snap. (Rule 7-3-2-hExc.)

XI. 2/10 @ A-40. In a shotgun formation A11 takes the backward pass from the snapper and hands the ball off to back A44. A44 takes a few steps toward the line of scrimmage and then throws a backward pass to A11, who is still inside the tackle box. Avoiding tacklers, A11 scrambles outside the tackle box, and unable to find an open receiver, at the A-35 he throws the ball toward an area where there are no eligible receivers, and it lands out of bounds beyond the neutral zone. RULING: Illegal forward pass. Loss of down at the A-35; third and 15. A11 loses the right to throw the ball away legally because he relinquishes possession before passing it.

XII. 3/10 @ A-30. Quarterback A11 drops back to pass. About to be tackled at the A-20, he throws the ball forward to an area where there are no eligible receivers. Tackle A77 catches the pass at the A-28 and is tackled at the A-32. RULING: Illegal forward pass; loss of down at the spot of the pass. Fourth and 20 at the A-20. This is “intentional grounding” since A11 throws the ball into an area where there are no eligible Team A receivers. Note that this is not illegal touching by A77, because the rule for illegal touching applies only to a legal forward pass. (Rule 7-3-11)

XIII. Quarterback A11 drops back to pass and scrambles outside the tackle box. He fumbles the ball, which bounces back up into his hands. He then passes the ball forward, and it lands beyond the neutral zone in an open area where there are no eligible receivers with an opportunity to make a catch. RULING: Legal play, since A11 did not relinquish possession to another player.