Can somebody clarify for me what happened on the huskie's opening kickoff. Tommylee Lewis clearly touched the ball, before recovering in the endzone where he was tackled. Would the correct ruling have been a safety? The officials ruled that the ball was not touched. Could that ruling have been challenged?

I think since the momentum of the kick carried the ball into the endzone, not by being hit by a player, that is why it was a touchback.

As long as you don't have control of the ball before it goes in the endzone (which he clearly didn't), it's a touchback.

(01-09-2012 09:29 PM)BleedsHuskieRed Wrote:  I think since the momentum of the kick carried the ball into the endzone, not by being hit by a player, that is why it was a touchback.

Whether the player hits or touches it does not matter....
It is a touch back. The runner has to cross the goal line
on a kickoff for the ball to be in play. So if you muff the kickoff
and run around in the end zone like a chicken with your head
cut off, it is ok. If you get tackled in the end zone, its a touch back.
It is not the same on a punt though. The ref screwed up saying
that the ball was not touched but it did not matter. The result of the
play is a touch back. No harm to either team. If ASU was smart they
would have let him cross the goal line and then tackle him in the
field of play.

I could have sworn that it should have been a safety. He touched the ball (making it live) while outside the endzone...

(01-09-2012 11:44 PM)niuguy Wrote:  I could have sworn that it should have been a safety. He touched the ball (making it live) while outside the endzone...

You don't have to touch it to "make it live." The ball is live and free for anybody to recover once it goes 10 yards.

The rule is you have to posses it for it to be a safety. He never possessed it, so it was a touchback. Pretty simple.

(01-09-2012 11:48 PM)7 Wrote:  

(01-09-2012 11:44 PM)niuguy Wrote:  I could have sworn that it should have been a safety. He touched the ball (making it live) while outside the endzone...

You don't have to touch it to "make it live." The ball is live and free for anybody to recover once it goes 10 yards.

The rule is you have to posses it for it to be a safety. He never possessed it, so it was a touchback. Pretty simple.

Simple if you aren't an Arkansas State fan.

I was confused. I could only imagine what was going through Lewis' mind