Illegal Kick

[Texas Aggie]

Attempts to kick the ball back towards his end-zone to keep from getting sacked. A: Ball goes in end-zone and recovered by R. B: Ball goes through end-zone and out of the back. What U got?

NCAA: It may or may not* be a foul for illegally kicking ball. Assuming it is a foul, in a), Team B will decline the foul and take the TD. In b), they might want to take the safety (result of play) or they might want to take the foul -- depending on the down. It would be a 10 yard penalty and a loss of down for Team A if the foul is accepted. Thus, if it was fourth down, Team B would get the ball around the 5 (half the distance).

However, as described, it MAY NOT be a foul. There's no prohibition that I'm aware of for a punter to turn back to his goal line and punt. The foul for illegally kicking a ball would assume that the kick is made with a loose ball, which is prohibited. Keep in mind that the NCAA still keeps the archaic difference between an illegal kick (return kick, kick by Team A beyond LOS) and illegally kicking ball (all other forms of kicks that aren't legal). The rule needs to be rewritten and updated, though it doesn't necessarily need to change what's happening now. It is silly and illogical to suggest there is an actual difference between something called an "illegal kick" and something else called "illegally kicking ball."