Rose Bowl fumble

[SamG]

Sorry guys, I'm confused. TXMike says since it was 2nd down, if Oregon would have recovered in the EZ, it's a TD. But I thought the offense couldn't advance a fumble.

Also, if I'm understanding you correctly, on a fumble on 4th, ONLY the player fumbling the ball could recover it. If anyone else does it goes back to where the ball was fumbled. Is that correct?

Thanks

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by SamG

Sorry guys, I'm confused. TXMike says since it was 2nd down, if Oregon would have recovered in the EZ, it's a TD. But I thought the offense couldn't advance a fumble.

Also, if I'm understanding you correctly, on a fumble on 4th, ONLY the player fumbling the ball could recover it. If anyone else does it goes back to where the ball was fumbled. Is that correct?

Thanks

That is correct. Since this was a second down play there is no requirement for the fumbling player to recover. If the ball goes out of bounds in the field of play however, the ball comes back to the spot of the fumble and the down counts regardless of down. Since the ball went into the end zone and then out of bounds, by rules that's a TB. It's actually very clear to officials and easy to remember but common-taters and fans struggle with it.

[Theisey]

the 4'th down fumble rule also applies during a TRY down.

There...now you have the rest of the story.

[Fan10]

Originally Posted by SamG

Sorry guys, I'm confused. TXMike says since it was 2nd down, if Oregon would have recovered in the EZ, it's a TD. But I thought the offense couldn't advance a fumble.

Also, if I'm understanding you correctly, on a fumble on 4th, ONLY the player fumbling the ball could recover it. If anyone else does it goes back to where the ball was fumbled. Is that correct?

Thanks

Just a fan here, but I learned this rule after seeing it come up in a game a few years back. Officials, please correct me if I mess up the wording:

On fourth down or a try, if the ball is recovered by by an offensive player other than the fumbler BEHIND the spot of the fumble (i.e. the ball is fumbled backwards), it's marked at the spot of the fumble RECOVERY.

[TXMike]

Correct. Ball becomes dead when recovered and belongs to Team A at that spot.

[golfnref]

Originally Posted by Fan10

Just a fan here, but I learned this rule after seeing it come up in a game a few years back. Officials, please correct me if I mess up the wording:

On fourth down or a try, if the ball is recovered by by an offensive player other than the fumbler BEHIND the spot of the fumble (i.e. the ball is fumbled backwards), it's marked at the spot of the fumble RECOVERY.

Your statement is correct for NFL. In a nutshell, on fourth down or a try, the team on offense cannot gain yardage if the ball is fumbled forward. On the other hand, they may lose yardage. This rule also applies to the defense in the last two minutes of each half if they gain possession of the ball by virtue of a turnover.