Reply To: Re: Was it was wasn't it a TD?

[LU65Participant]

Certainly the play of the game. I, too, was unable to get to the game but watched, as many did, on Harvard Game Central. I replayed the action again and again and can’t say with any certainty that it was a "completed pass." It’s odd that the receiver, Michael Cook; quarterback, Colton Chapple; and the coach, Tim Murphy didn’t object more vehemently to the call were it, indeed, a completed pass. Maybe, just maybe it wasn’t. Or, as the rule states below, the receiver came down with one foot in and one foot out, simultaneously, and the call was proper. We’ll never know, will we?

One foot rule
College Football – One foot rule
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Expert: Vic Winnek – 7/15/2008
NCAA Football Official
Question
If a receiver is in the air, catches and controls the football, then lands with one foot in, one foot out, and both feet landing simultaneously, is he in or out?

Answer
Quick answer – it is an incomplete pass per rules 2-2-7-c,e & 7-3-7.

Generally as you know NCAA rules only require 1 foot in bounds first, unlike the NFL that requires 2 feet in bounds to complete a catch.

To fully answer your question you must understand the nomenclature or terminology as used by rule. Please understand that a catch is a term of art; it is an act of firmly establishing "player possession" of a live ball in flight. Thus for a catch to occur the player must firmly hold or control the ball while contacting the ground inbounds.

So in your question as presented, the airborne receiver is in the air not touching the ground so but is controlling the ball. This is NOT possession or a catch. It is a loose ball controlled by an air born receiver. Thus the player "receives the ball" doesn’t catch it while in the air. The act of catching requires multiple elements= the player must firmly control the ball, be grounded inbounds.

The next part of your question states that both feet land simultaneously to the ground with one foot inbounds and one foot out of bounds. Understand that it is an incomplete pass when a player leaves his feet and receives the pass but first lands on or outside a boundary line, unless his progress has been stopped in the field of play or end zone. In this question one foot is out of bound and the other foot is in bounds simultaneously, thus we consider that out of bounds. Because both feet come to the ground at the same time and one foot id OB, the receiver is considered OB thus no catch, incomplete.

For more on this story, see:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/College-Foot … t-rule.htm