Muffed/Fumbled Punt Question

[MNfootballfan]

Does anyone know the rule on the play where Sherels was going to return the punt? It was a turnover and Iowa recovered. The ball clearly touched a Gopher and Iowa recovered. I saw on the news tonight that clearly a Gopher blocker was pushed into Sherels. I thought that was considered interfearance.

 

[stevedave23]

I looked up the rule last night. If a player is blocked and that player hits the ball it does not count as a touch. However, if a player is blocked into another player and the player that he was blocked into touches the ball (like last night) then it is considered a touch.

So taking last nights scenario into account if #5 on the gophers was the one who touched the ball then it wouldn't have been a touch. But since #5 was blocked into Sherels and Sherels was the one who touched the ball it counts as a touch and it's a live ball.

 

[MNfootballfan]

So anyway you slice it #5 had a rough night on special teams. Coaching Point: Do not tackle a punt returner before they catch the ball.

 

[Ski U Master]

So anyway you slice it #5 had a rough night on special teams. Coaching Point: Do not tackle a punt returner before they catch the ball.

That was horrible, the returner wasn't even close to having the ball. I just about lost it when that happened.

 

[Goldmember]

Well ... Why not teach the kick-off team to always drill the nearest blocker into the kick-returner as they are catching the ball on a fair catch?

You would reverse posession on at least 1 out of 10 fair catches.

 

[The Big L]

If the returner is calling a fair catch, why is the blocker even standing next to the returner trying to block. Let your guy get through, it won't matter, its a fair catch!

 

[MRJ]

That play kind of summed up the day for me.

Just another example of the football gods piling things up on us fans

Somebody should just take a giant pin and pop the dump!!!

 

[MNfootballfan]

That play kind of summed up the day for me.

Just another example of the football gods piling things up on us fans

Somebody should just take a giant pin and pop the dump!!!

haha true, but i think more so the football gods on the long pass when the iowa qb tossed it 35 yards when he was staring straight up at the teflon sky. after that play, my dad and i looked at each other and just laughed. some days, things just don't go the right way.

 

[stevedave23]

Well ... Why not teach the kick-off team to always drill the nearest blocker into the kick-returner as they are catching the ball on a fair catch?

You would reverse posession on at least 1 out of 10 fair catches.

I thought the same thing. I think that in most cases if the returner is NOT making a fair catch then the blocker is usually not close enough to be pushed into him.

Either way this was a once every 100 years type of play and, of course, it happened to the gophers.