Forward Pass vs. Fumble

[JasonTX]

By NCAA rules when a player is contacted in a way that causes the ball to come loose will be an incomplete pass if that players arm had started forward to pass the ball. It makes no difference if the ball subsequently travels backwards, it will still be an incomplete pass. If all this happens beyond the LOS it will be illegal. In regards to a backwards pass. It is determined to be backwards by comparing the location it was passed to where it first touches the ground or a player. In a lot of plays the runner will release ball backwards but the momentum he has actually causes the ball to travel forward. It's not always called when this happens beyond the LOS, but those are illegal forward passes.