Rose Bowl fumble

[Theisey]

SamG: just to expand a little on what TXMike said... had it been fourth down... only the "fumbler" can recover the ball and not have the play whistled dead at that point with the ball being returned to the spot of the fumble.

It is crucial for an official to know the down, player number of who fumbled and player number of who recovered. I think the philosophy now that replay is part of the game at the big time level is to let the play end normally and sort it out afterward and/or let IR correct the result.

[ajmc]

Just as a point of reference, although the play discussed here is during the "Rose Bowl" which is obviously covered by NCAA rules, the "4th down fumble exception" does not exist, nor apply, to High School (NFHS) rules.