Quiz 003 — The Dead Ball and the Definitions That Decide It

Source

2025 NFHS Football Rules Book + Case Book (Rules 1, 2, 4)

Level

Expert

Questions

10

Scope

11-player football, no state adoptions in effect unless stated.

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Questions

1. Fumble, muff, and the exception that does not stretch (2025)

Third and 2 from A's 35. A1 pitches the ball back to A2 at A's 31. A2 muffs it and the ball rolls forward and out of bounds at (a) A's 38, or (b) A's 36. Where is the ball spotted, and what down is it?

2. The holder who stood up

During a try, K1 — apparently the place-kick holder — receives the snap with one knee on the ground and places the ball. Just as K2 comes forward to kick, K1 lifts the ball, rises, and: (a) throws a forward pass to K3 in the end zone; (b) carries the ball into the end zone; (c) starts to run, fumbles, and K4 recovers and advances into the end zone; (d) fumbles and R1 recovers; or (e) takes several steps and then drops to one knee to place it for a kick. Ruling in each?

3. Off his own lineman, and good

During a try, K1's place kick strikes lineman K2, who is behind the neutral zone, and caroms between the uprights and above the crossbar. Ruling — and would the answer change if the identical touching happened beyond the plane of the goal line?

4. Whistle over a loose ball

Fourth and goal on B's 4. A1 is hit and fumbles, and as the ball rolls into the end zone the covering official inadvertently sounds his whistle. The fumble occurred at (a) B's 5, or (b) B's 3. What are A's choices, and what is the result of each?

5. Whistle versus flag

A's ball, third and 8 on A's 30. A1's pass is intercepted by B2. Prior to the interception, B1 was flagged for defensive pass interference. After the interception, the covering official sounds an inadvertent whistle with B2 in possession at B's 40. What are A's options, and what happens to the inadvertent whistle in each?

6. Ask once

Prior to the ready-for-play on a try, A's captain asks that the ball be placed on the right hash mark. A then deploys in a spread formation. (a) A1 dislikes the coverage and requests a charged time-out; or (b) a dead-ball foul occurs. In each case A's captain then asks the referee to move the ball to a point midway between the uprights. Granted or denied?

7. Progress from above the end zone

First and 10 for A at B's 12. A1 sprints toward the end line, buttonhooks, and possesses a forward pass while airborne above the end zone. Then: (a) his momentum carries him back into the field of play and he is downed on B's 1; or (b) while still in the air in the end zone he is contacted by B1 and carried out, landing and being downed on B's 2. Ruling in each?

8. The plane that isn't enough

Runner A1 is advancing toward B's goal line very near the sideline. (a) A1 advances into B's end zone while holding the ball outside the plane of the sideline; or (b) A1 dives toward the end zone but is hit by B1 and lands out of bounds beyond the goal line extended — his last contact with the ground was short of the goal line. In both cases the ball breaks the plane of the goal line extended. Touchdown or not, and where is the ball spotted?

9. Fumble or incompletion

Quarterback A1 drops back and is under heavy rush. A1 is hit, the ball drops to the ground, and B1 recovers. At the instant A1 lost possession his passing arm was: (a) moving backward; (b) extended back but not moving in either direction relative to the line of scrimmage; or (c) moving forward toward the line of scrimmage. Ruling in each?

10. Two 81s and one 00

After the ball has been marked ready for play but prior to the snap, it is discovered that (a) A1 and A2 are both wearing number 81, or (b) B2 is wearing 00. When does the foul occur in each case, and what changes if the numbering is not discovered until during the down?

Answer Key

1. (a) The ball is spotted at the inbounds spot at A's 38 — first and 10 for A. (b) The ball is spotted at A's 36 — fourth and 1. The Rule 4-3-1 EXCEPTION returning a ball to the spot of the fumble applies exclusively to a fumble by a player in possession, and not to a muff. In both branches the play clock is set to 40 and starts on the ready-for-play signal, and the game clock starts on the snap. Case 4.3.1 SIT B (2025 change); Rule 4-3-1 EXCEPTION

2. Successful try in (a), (b) and (c). In (d) the try ended when R1 recovered — R may not advance. In (e) the ball is dead the instant K1's knee touches the ground. The ball remains live and may be advanced because the place-kick holder had a knee on the ground at the snap with a teammate in position to kick; but once he has risen with the ball in possession, touching the ground with other than hand or foot kills it. Case 4.2.2 SIT B; Rule 4-2-2a EXCEPTION and NOTE

3. The try is successful. Touching a kick is ignored when it occurs in the neutral zone expanded or on K's side of it. Yes, the answer changes beyond the goal-line plane — the neutral zone does not expand into the end zone, so the same touching there makes the ball dead and ends the try. Case 4.2.2 SIT I; Rules 2-28-2, 6-2-6

4. A may take the ball at the spot of the fumble or replay the down. Whenever an inadvertent whistle sounds while a fumbled ball is loose, the ball goes back to the spot of the fumble — theoretically where it became dead. Taking the play means A has failed on fourth and goal: B's ball at the 5 in (a), at the 3 in (b). A will likely replay the down. Case 4.2.3 SIT C; Rule 4-2-3b

5. If A accepts the pass-interference penalty, it is A's ball first and 10 at A's 45 and the inadvertent whistle is ignored entirely. If A declines, B keeps the ball at B's 40. An accepted penalty for a live-ball foul occurring before the inadvertent whistle takes precedence over inadvertent-whistle administration. Case 4.2.3 SIT G; Rules 4-2-3c, 4-2-3d

6. Denied in (a), honored in (b). Once the ball has been spotted, it may not be moved because of a second request — a charged time-out does not reopen the choice. A dead-ball foul (or a foul during the down when the penalty is accepted and the down is replayed) does give the captain the choice again. Case 4.3.6 SITUATION; Rules 4-3-6, 8-3-1

7. (a) A's ball, first and goal at B's 1. (b) Touchdown. Forward progress from an airborne position is measured from where the receiver came down, unless an opponent's contact in the end zone is what carried him out — in (b) A1 was contacted in the end zone, so his progress was there. Case 2.15.2 SITUATION; Rule 2-4-1

8. (a) Touchdown. (b) No touchdown. In (a), A1 was touching inbounds when the ball broke the plane of the goal line extended, which is all the rule requires. In (b), A1 was not touching inbounds and was short of the goal line when hit — the ball is spotted at the inbounds spot on the yard line where its foremost point crossed the sideline plane. Case 2.26.3 SITUATION; Rule 2-26-3

9. (a) and (b) are fumbles — B has the ball. (c) is an incomplete forward pass, dead when it strikes the ground. The test is not intent but whether the arm was moving forward toward the line of scrimmage at the instant possession was lost; an arm merely extended back and motionless is not a pass. Case 2.31.2 SITUATION; Rule 2-18

10. (a) becomes a foul at the snap for illegal numbering. (b) is a foul before the snap — 00 is not a legal number at all, and B2 may not participate wearing it. If either is discovered during the down, it is a foul that occurred at the snap. Case 1.4.3 SITUATION; Rules 1-5-1c(1), 7-2-5d