Why did Juanyeh Thomas fall down ...

[danny daniel]

But it’s ok to advance muffed punts on the front end (dropped snaps, blocked punts, snaps over head of punter, etc...). Weird.

That is because rules are different if punt does not cross LOS vs if it does cross LOS. There is no muff if the ball does not cross the LOS on a punt and it is treated as a fumble.

 

[Nixon_Corral]

But it’s ok to advance muffed punts on the front end (dropped snaps, blocked punts, snaps over head of punter, etc...). Weird.

That's because of this:

That is because rules are different if punt does not cross LOS vs if it does cross LOS. There is no muff if the ball does not cross the LOS on a punt and it is treated as a fumble.

However, I think the official term in the rulebook for this is "loose ball," not "fumble." A former referee on Reddit described the difference in a thread once, but I forget the details, so don't quote me on that.

Additionally , (to the best of my knowledge) as long as the ball doesn't cross the line of scrimmage on a punt or place kick, if the kicking team recovers, they still have the full breadth of offensive options available to them, including passing, running, and drop kicking.

 

[FlatsLander]

Cannot advance a muffed punt but if possession is obtained (which it was not) you can advance it. JT downed it so there would be no opportunity for him to turn it over since he had obtained possession. Note how White downed the 2014 UGA interception to win the game. He went down so there was no opportunity for him to fumble it back to UGA. Very smart play by both players who obviously knew the rules and the in the moment circumstances.

Could JT have fumbled the muffed punt recovery? From the rule, it sounds like the play is dead once we possess it. He didn't necessarily have to slide down. I was thinking he did that to make sure everyone knew the play was dead. You're right about White's INT against uga, though. It's gotta be hard to let yourself go down after getting a huge INT.

 

[GTech63]

That's why the ball was placed on the 10, instead of the 5 where Juanyeh went down. I was irritated at the game until someone else explained.

I was glad to see this explanation also.

Does this apply to any muffed punt or to a called fair catch muffed punt.? IDR what happened to our muffed punt in Liberty bowl a few years back. It cost us the game IIRC. But until noticing the spot Saturday night and todays explanation never knew rule.

 

[SteamWhistle]

I knew the rule but I was still hype cause he just made Miami’s best player look like a *****.

 

[deeeznutz]

after he scooped up Miami’s fumbled punt near the goal line?

All Juanyeh had to do was waltz into the end zone for an easy touchdown!

I just couldn’t believe he quickly fell — or “slid down” — after securing the ball. He wasn’t touched.

Can anyone explain this one play? Our team ended up kicking a field goal after this happened.

I just wanted to say I LOVED the way he just shoved the Miami player out of the way so he had no chance to impact the play. That was just a heads up move.

 

[laoh]

I'm guessing it was a more heat of the moment, instinctual thing, kinda like how DJ White slid down after that game winning pick in 2014 at that game on farmlands east of ATL.

 

[danny daniel]

Could JT have fumbled the muffed punt recovery? From the rule, it sounds like the play is dead once we possess it. He didn't necessarily have to slide down. I was thinking he did that to make sure everyone knew the play was dead. You're right about White's INT against uga, though. It's gotta be hard to let yourself go down after getting a huge INT.

You are likely right about the ball being dead when JT possessed it, and not being dead when White intercepted it..

 

[JorgeJonas]

Same rule applies on kickoffs (think Lawrence Austin’s recovery in the 2014 uga game).

 

[forensicbuzz]

Cannot advance a muffed punt but if possession is obtained (which it was not) you can advance it. JT downed it so there would be no opportunity for him to turn it over since he had obtained possession. Note how White downed the 2014 UGA interception to win the game. He went down so there was no opportunity for him to fumble it back to UGA. Very smart play by both players who obviously knew the rules and the in the moment circumstances.

Would not have mattered if White had fumbled after making the catch. Game ended when the uga possession ended. However, the refs would have probably called it an incomplete pass had DJ fumbled it.

 

[FlatsLander]

Would not have mattered if White had fumbled after making the catch. Game ended when the uga possession ended. However, the refs would have probably called it an incomplete pass had DJ fumbled it.

If White caught the ball and started running, and then fumbled, it would be a live ball that uga could have picked up and tried to get into the end zone. It was for sure the last play, but until we ended the play, anything could have happened.

 

[forensicbuzz]

If White caught the ball and started running, and then fumbled, it would be a live ball that uga could have picked up and tried to get into the end zone. It was for sure the last play, but until we ended the play, anything could have happened.

Once we gained possession of the ball, the game ended. He could have run into the end zone and tossed the ball to a uga player and it wouldn't have made a difference. Once we gained possession, uga's possession ended, thus their opportunity to score in that round of OT ended. It's the same reason we got a first down in the FSU game when we fumbled and then JfN took the ball back away. Even though it was the same play, there were two distinct change of possessions. In the uga game, since we went first in that round of OT, when we gained possession, uga failed to tie or go ahead in their possession. Game over.

 

[Animal02]

Once we gained possession of the ball, the game ended. He could have run into the end zone and tossed the ball to a uga player and it wouldn't have made a difference. Once we gained possession, uga's possession ended, thus their opportunity to score in that round of OT ended. It's the same reason we got a first down in the FSU game when we fumbled and then JfN took the ball back away. Even though it was the same play, there were two distinct change of possessions. In the uga game, since we went first in that round of OT, when we gained possession, uga failed to tie or go ahead in their possession. Game over.

Got me wondering, and I found this online.
Possession series: Each team retains the ball during a possession series until it scores or fails to make a first down. The ball remains alive after a change of team possession until it is declared dead. However, Team A may not have a first and 10 if it again possesses the ball after a change of team possession (A.R. 3-1-3-I-IX)."

 

[forensicbuzz]

Got me wondering, and I found this online.
Possession series: Each team retains the ball during a possession series until it scores or fails to make a first down. The ball remains alive after a change of team possession until it is declared dead. However, Team A may not have a first and 10 if it again possesses the ball after a change of team possession (A.R. 3-1-3-I-IX)."

I wonder if that changed when from when they first instituted the college OT, because the first year it came out, there was a long discussion with the head of the Rules Committee where this specific scenario was discussed. That's the reason I didn't go back and dig up the rule. Interesting.

@vespinaeGT, I stand corrected.

 

[Animal02]

I wonder if that changed when from when they first instituted the college OT, because the first year it came out, there was a long discussion with the head of the Rules Committee where this specific scenario was discussed. That's the reason I didn't go back and dig up the rule. Interesting.

@vespinaeGT, I stand corrected.

I just found that reference on another site where they were discussing the same issue. I can not couch for it's validity.
BTW...you were half right.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Juanyeh Thomas is a hell of a punt returner