Mike S.
The illegal portion of the play comes when the ball is kicked while it is loose on the ground. The punter can't just kick at the ball to keep the defense from covering it. The ball must be in position to be kicked for it to be a legal kick. The same would be true on a field goal attempt. If the holder mishandles the snap and is fumbling with it on the ground, the kicker cannot kick it until the holder has control of it. Even if the kicker kicked at it while it was loose on the ground and it went thru the uprights, the field goal would not count if the defense accepted the penalty for illegal kicking. It would be 15 yards back from the spot of the illegal kick and they would get to replay the down.
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