Bob - that is exactly right...
If it hits the inside of the pylon, it MUST have crossed the goalline first, and if it hits the front, it MUST have crossed out of bounds first. There is a caseplay that tells us what to rule if the ball hits the corner (ie - hits the pylon AT the intersection of the goalline and sideline) - it's a TD.
Opie - what's being discussed here is ONLY the case of an airborne player. If the player is touching the ground and reaches across the goalline, he gets the benefit of the Goal-Line Extended (through infinity, according to Al Michaels (
) ). The rules differ for an airborne player, and specifically tell us that if the ball crosses the out of bounds line before crossing the goal line, it's out of bounds. The point of contention exists because of 4.2.3-b that tells us that if the ball hits the pylon, it's out of bounds beyond the endline. That one statement seems to be leading some people to throw out the other rules and give a TD ANY time the ball hits the pylon. My contention on that is that it is true that if the ball hits the pylon, then AT THAT MOMENT, it is out of bounds beyond the endline --- but that is irrelevant, as the ball was ALREADY out of bounds before it struck the endline (the play was over prior to the ball striking the pylon).
4-2-3b is really meant for other situations. Like - a loose ball bouncing in the endzone bounces up, strikes the pylon, and comes back in bounds. The ball is OUT of bounds when it strikes the pylon, and is beyond the endline - so rule safety/touchback accordingly.