NCAA and NFL rules please.

Team A fumbles the ball on Team B's 3 yard line into the end zone where team A falls on it. Is it a touchdown?

In NCAA it depends on if this is 4th down and who recovers the ball. On 4th down the only team A player that may recover and advance is the player who fumbled the ball. If another A player recovers, the ball becomes dead and is brought back to the spot of the fumble. If this is down 1 to 3 then any player may recover the ball and score.

NCAA and NFL rules are pretty much the same:

1st-3rd down. Yes, any player may recover a fumble and score a touchdown.

4th down. Only the fumbling player may recover the fumble for a touchdown.

Advancing a fumble
 

NFL rules: a fumble may not be recovered and advanced by a player other than the one who fumbled on all 4th down plays, all try for point plays and all plays in the last two minutes of each half. In these instances if a player other than the one who fumbled recovers, the ball is returned to the spot of the fumble.

Re: Advancing a fumble
 

Thanks Bob. I have the NFL rulebook at home but was going from memory. There are differences between the NCAA rule and NFL rule because rules change in the NFL with limited time remaining.

In the Vikings/Seahawks game yesterday, on 4th and inches...Culpepper does a QB sneak..extends the ball out past the first down line where it is batted out of his hands, Moe Williams then recovers the fumble two yards behind the line of scrimmage and runs for aobut a five yard gain. The refs, rule correctly that Moe cannot advance the fumble but spot it at the point that Moe recovered, and not at the spot of the fumble, thus no first down. Is this different because the ball went backward and not forward?

I saw that too but the explanation that the R gave was that Culppepper did not reach the line to gain and the ball was spotted, after the review, where it was fumbled.

For anyone who gets the NFL channel, its 212 DirectTV where I am. Watch NFL Total Access tonight. Every monday they have Director of Officiating Mike Pereira review all the calls from the week. I'm sure this will be one of them.

And if you don't get this channel then you can always read them on NFL.com. Here's one from Week 13 -> http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/6885774

Snake,

It's the best 10 minutes on TV for officials. They didn't cover that play but did cover the NE field goal over the goal post.

By the way, did you see they found Scott Dawson? LOL. Who REALLY wants to be an umpire??

Yeap, I watched it. They didn't review the minnesota play like you said which was disappointing but oh well.


And man the way that umpire disappeared last week was amazing. And then the way he got leveled this week, I feel bad for the guy. lol