Arkansas Lateral

[starman]

In yesterday's Arkansas game the lateral occurred on 4th down. It bounced before it was recovered by Arkansas and advanced for a first down. My question is....would this play have been legal in the nfl? My understanding is that fourth-down fumbles can only be recovered and advanced by the player who fumbled. Since the lateral bounced, would it be considered a fumble?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by starman

In yesterday's Arkansas game the lateral occurred on 4th down. It bounced before it was recovered by Arkansas and advanced for a first down. My question is....would this play have been legal in the nfl? My understanding is that fourth-down fumbles can only be recovered and advanced by the player who fumbled. Since the lateral bounced, would it be considered a fumble?

Why would it have been illegal at any level? It is not a fumble, it is a backward pass (not a lateral). NCAA and the NFL have basically the same fourth down fumble rule.

Peace

[starman]

Thanks. I thought that a backwards pass that hits the ground would be considered a fumble and not a backwards pass. I guess that is not the case.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by starman

Thanks. I thought that a backwards pass that hits the ground would be considered a fumble and not a backwards pass. I guess that is not the case.

Nope, fumbles are accidental losses of the ball. Backward passes are intentional acts of giving the ball "away." If a pass is forward, then it would be an incomplete pass. If you have a fumble that goes forward, then you have a live ball. The forth down fumble rule would apply regardless of going forward or backward.

Peace

[HLin NC]

There is no such thing as a lateral. Its either forward or backward.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Nope, fumbles are accidental losses of the ball.

Usually, but not necessarily. If you look at the definition of "fumble" in the major codes, it's by exclusion. It's a catchall for loss of possession not produced by the other named means.

Here's a deliberate act of loss of player possession that AFAICT would be ruled a fumble: a "leave pass". The ballcarrier would place the ball on the ground & run away from it for a teammate to pick up. I even thought of a scenario where such a pass would make sense. In a general sports sense it's a type of pass, but in the football rule book sense it would not satisfy the definition of "pass".

Also, IIRC, a player who deliberately drops the ball for a punt or drop kick & is prevented from kicking the ball (or simply misses it) is ruled to have fumbled.

However, I can't think of a case complementary to that: accidental loss of ball that would not be ruled a fumble. So if possession is lost accidentally, it's a fumble, but if a fumble occurs, you can't be absolutely sure it must've happened by accidental means.