Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Goodman
Except for the (strong) chance of my being out of date on this, it's not even called "a kick" in Fed rules
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Techinically, it is still a kick because a kick is defined (2-24-1) as "the intentional striking of the ball with the knee, lower leg, or foot." However, the rules pertaining to kicks and the action/status of the ball during kicks pertain specifically to free kicks or scrimmage kicks. By rule, a free kick (2-24-3) and a scrimmage kick (2-24-4) are both legal kicks.
And per 2-24-9, "When the ball is loose following an illegal kick, it is treated as a fumble." The biggest difference this makes is that the ball is still live when it enters the end zone, as B can recover and run it out and A can score a TD (which would be nullified by the penalty). And obviously in the OP, it is a touchback because the ball went out of the back of the end zone.