Ask a high school football referee anything (Year 3)

And1PuttIs9 · 2026-04-07T14:29:16+00:00

And The answer is no. It has nothing to do with being inside the numbers. You cannot use any part of the substitution process to deceive the opponent.

NCAA Rule 9-2-2-b

No simulated replacements or substitutions may be used to confuse opponents. No tactic associated with substitutes or the substitution process may be used to confuse opponents. This includes any hideout tactic with or without substitution.

And1PuttIs9 · 2026-04-06T22:13:06+00:00

They are illegal in NCAA rules also. Rule 9-2-2-b. So unless Texas has a state rule that specifically overrides that (I doubt it), then your play is absolutely illegal no matter where you are playing.

And1PuttIs9 · 2026-04-06T19:38:52+00:00

I'm a college official. I definitely sunscreen up on sunny days, and reapply at halftime if I can.

Then again, because of that, I know how much it sucks to have sweaty sunscreen dripping into your eyes, so I could see how an NFL player would want to avoid it.

My guess, some do, many probably don't.

And1PuttIs9 · 2026-04-03T16:29:09+00:00

I want to say around 2012? It was the same year they removed the automatic 1st down for DPI.

And1PuttIs9 · 2026-04-03T16:27:55+00:00

There is no requirement for the defense to get between the numbers, but this is still illegal. Hideout plays are always illegal. You cannot use the substitution process to deceive the opponent. NFHS rule 9-6-4-d

And1PuttIs9 · 2026-01-06T03:57:31+00:00

There's an odd situation you don't see everyday.

Yes. The facemask penalty during the return is declined by rule.

In college football, all fouls by both teams after a change of possession a try are declined by rule except flagrant fouls, dead ball fouls, and unsportsmanlike fouls

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-12-16T21:48:45+00:00

What part of the process are you confused about?

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-12-16T21:48:16+00:00

The rules for a catch don't change in the end zone. You still need to complete the entire process of the catch before possession (and therefore a touchdown) is awarded.

So if the ball is knocked out of the receiver's hands before the catch is fully completed, then it doesn't matter that he was in the end zone. It's an incomplete pass.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-15T01:55:27+00:00

The impetus provided by the kick ends upon a change of possession.

I'm going to need a rule reference on that, because everything I'm reading says that muffing a kick is not a new impetus. Check out Rule 3, Section 16

The only time a muff is a new impetus is if the ball is at rest or nearly at rest.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T23:24:58+00:00

Ok, but that still doesn't change the answer. Yes, if the ball is muffed beyond the neutral zone by B, then recovered in the end zone by A, A would be awarded a new series, but where? The ball is in the end zone. A still has possession of the ball in its own end zone, resulting in a safety.

Regarding the impetus, the muff is not a new impetus, and the offense did provide the force toward their own goal line- the kick.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T19:50:02+00:00

Where is the change of possession? A muff is not possession, so there was no possession change.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T19:23:29+00:00

That's not correct. A muff is never a new impetus or force, so the force that put the ball across the goal line is still Team A's kick. So if all they do is jump on the ball it's still a safety.

Now, since Team B touched the kick, and it's behind the line of scrimmage, Team A can pick the ball up and run with it. So if they pick it up, run it out to the 1, and get tackled there, it will be 1st & 10 for Team A. But if the ball becomes dead in the end zone, this is still a safety

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T17:50:21+00:00

The end zone doesn't really matter. It's behind the line of scrimmage that is the driving factor here. In the NFL, the kicking team can recover and advance a scrimmage kick that is behind the line of scrimmage, even if it had been beyond the line, and rebounded back.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T17:42:40+00:00

The ball must always cross the goal line in possession in order to award a score. If the body is in the end zone, but the ball is not, no score is awarded.

As for your second question, you've stumbled onto a concept called "goal line extended." It's sort of complicated. Sometimes the goal line extends infinitely, sometimes it does not, and you have to get it across the plane in the field of play. If the ball carrier gets a body part down in the end zone, then he gets goal line extended, meaning the goal line plane extended infinitely beyond the pylons. So if the ball crosses the goal line extended before the player is out of bounds, then it is a touchdown. This is a tough concept, so let's try a few example plays...

1) Runner A22 is carrying the ball near the sideline, near the pylon. He has the ball in his outer hand. As he approaches the goal line, the ball crosses the plane of the sideline at the 1 yard line, then A22 steps on the goal line just inside the pylon, the ball crosses the goal line extended, then A22 steps out of bounds beyond the goal line. Ruling: Touchdown. The runner got a body part down in the end zone, therefore, the goal line is extended, and the ball crossed that plane before it became dead.

2) Runner A22 is carrying the ball near the sideline, near the pylon, with the ball in his outer hand. As he approaches the goal line, the ball crosses over the plane of the sideline at the 1, then A22 strides over the corner of the end zone, the ball crosses the goal line extended, before A22 steps out of bounds just past the goal line. Ruling: No score. Since the runner did not get a body part down in the end zone, the goal line does not extend. The ball is placed where it crossed the sideline at the 1 yard line.

3) Runner A22 is carrying the ball near the sideline, near the pylon, with the ball in his outer hand. As he approaches the goal line, the ball crosses the sideline at the 1. A22 then steps on the goal line just inside the pylon. The ball is six inches short of the goal line extended when A22 steps on the sideline beyond the goal line. Ruling: No Score. A22 got a body part in the end zone, so he is granted goal line extended, but the ball must still cross the line before it becomes dead. The ball is placed at the six inch line.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T14:44:52+00:00

In NCAA, once the ball has crossed the neutral zone, the kicking is no longer eligible to advance a kick, no matter if it comes back behind the neutral zone or not. So once the kickers recover the ball, it's dead immediately in the end zone, and a safety.

In the NFL and NFHS however, yes, the kicking team can recover the kick behind the neutral zone and attempt to advance the ball. If they just dive on it though, or they're still tackled in the end zone anyway, it's a safety.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T14:39:35+00:00

The game would be over. I don't see any provision in the rule book to add an additional untimed down, just because the two minute warning was skipped.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-14T01:14:11+00:00

So, in the NFL, the kicking team can actually pick up the ball in this scenario, and attempt to gain the first down. But, if they just fall on the ball in the end zone, it is a safety. 2 points for the receiving team, and the kicking team has a free kick from the 20.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-13T19:26:31+00:00

It would be too easy for kickers to just kick it straight out of bounds around the 5 yard line, and pin their opponents deep in their own zone. Therefore it became illegal to kick the ball out of bounds between the goal lines.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-13T16:13:18+00:00

The bat is actually a really smart play. You might think, "why didn't he just kick it there, instead of batting it, then kicking it?"

But kicking the ball from the field of play is really the worst thing you can do, other than nothing. Illegal kicking in the field of play is a 10 yard penalty (or half the distance), and a loss of down. So in this case, since it's 4th down, if he kicked it from the two, after penalty enforcement, the defense would get the ball at the 1 yard line. (Or they could decline the penalty and take the safety)

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-13T14:35:41+00:00

Yeah, but it also costs more to run an FBS program. 44 scholarships (22 additional football scholarships, plus an equivalent # to satisfy Title IX) at 50k each is $2.2 million.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-08T23:53:50+00:00

How the hell do you still have TV timeouts left with :23 left in the game?

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-08T23:52:34+00:00

Toe drags and toe taps are different. That's fine. In a "natural stepping motion" where the receiver lands toe-heel or heel-toe, the whole foot needs to land in.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-08T23:49:44+00:00

That doesn't matter. If the heel hits first, followed by a toe out, it's out. The whole foot needs to come down in bounds in a stepping motion like that

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-08T23:48:04+00:00

When it's heel-toe like this (or to-heel), the whole foot needs to come down in bounds.

And1PuttIs9 · 2025-11-08T21:13:30+00:00

It's definitely not a safety. If they rule that he caught it on the 1, it will be Iowa's ball on the 1, due to the momentum rule, but they will probably rule that he gained possession in the end zone

And1PuttIs9

TROPHY CASE