Bean bag. blue or white?

[KBAustria]

Originally Posted by bossman72

Sorry for chiming in with the stupid question, but do the bean bags really have any practical use? I know it's used to mark where the ball was fumbled or where a kick was caught/touched among other things that i'm not totally sure of, but why do those need marked?


ps- i'll be occasionally popping in with very basic questions since i'm considering going into football officiating in a couple years. i just want to get a little bit of a jump on the rules and mechanics (just baby steps though).

In NCAA rules, EVERY fumble spot needs a bean bag, because the ball could be returned to this spot if the ball goes out of bounds in advance of that spot.
Also, if a team A fumble in a 4th down is recovered by a team A player other than the fumbler, the ball becomes dead at the spot of the fumble.