Airborne receiver throws backward pass before returning to the ground. Legal/illegal

[YOOU]

NCAAF: 3/10 @ A-30. QB A7 throws a forward pass to A85 who is standing at the A-33. A-85 jumps up, grabs the ball, and throws it backward (before returning to the ground) to teammate A82. The ball hits the ground, and A82 scoops the ball up at the A-29 and carries it to the B-34 where he is tackled. What is the proper call?

[HLin NC]

See the definition of a catch.

[Robert Goodman]

2 issues: the result of the play, and whether it's legal. The result of the play would be incomplete forward pass. What the player in the air did with the ball may be considered batting it (changing its direction by the hands), but being an eligible receiver (setup didn't say otherwise), as a player allowed to touch the ball he may also bat it legally backward in the field of play. So no foul.

[Robert Goodman]

But let's complicate it a bit. (Actually you could do this with other late-whistle plays.) Suppose during the interval between the ball's touching the ground and the tackle, opposing players commit illegal use of hands and pulling a face mask. Do you:

(a) ignore the illegal use of hands, and present the option of a dead ball penalty for the face mask foul;

(b) treat as if they were live ball fouls by opposing players; or

(c) just give warnings?