30 Yard Penalty

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by bigjohn

Second 15 is USC!

PENALTY: Illegal forward pass (Arts. 2a,b,c) – (S35); intentional grounding
(Arts. 2d,e) –(S36) – 5 yards plus loss of down – (S9). Pass interference (Art.
10) – (S33) – 15 yards and automatic first down if by B, 15 yards plus loss of
down if by A – (S9). If the pass interference by either player is intentional, his
team shall be penalized an additional 15 yards (S27). Ineligible downfield
(Art. 12) – (S37) – 5 yards. Illegal touching (Art. 13) – (S16) – 5 yards plus loss
of down.

So then they didn't get rid of all the contact USCs -- or they did, and later brought one in.

Another interesting aspect is that this is an exception to 9-9-1. In other codes an intentional pass interference that saves an obvious touchdown could be penalized equitably by the award of the score, but in Fed this special 15+15 penalty (however it's administered) is clearly "specific rule coverage" which supersedes the equitable penalty.