Nit picking on a field goal question

[HawkeyeCubP]

Originally Posted by waltjp

I'll vote for the entire ball passing between the uprights for the kick to be good. Someone posted link to a play last season that showed a long field goal attempt that hit the cross bar and bounced straight up and back onto the crossbar 3 times before falling into the end zone. I don't think anyone claimed that the kick should have been good.

They should have. By rule, technically, if the field and uprights were properly marked and aligned, that would be a successful field goal, as the cylindrical front edge of the crossbar and uprights should be directly over and in line with the inside edge of the end line (1-2-5-a). The front edge of the cross bar is where the all-important "plane" is that must be penetrated by the ball.

Look at the language in Case Book play 8-4-1-a and in Rule 8-2-1-a - they both use the word "penetrate." It's the same principle, with regard to the ball and the related plane, for scoring a touchdown and a successful field goal or try.