Boise State-Nevada game

[VALJ]

About 7 and a half minutes left in the third quarter.  Boise blocks a Nevada field goal, and while the ball is loose, number 17 of Boise bats the ball away from a Nevada at the Boise 32 or so.  At about the Nevada 42, one of the Boise players tries to pick it up, but muffs it.  A Boise player eventually picks it up in Nevada territory and is tackled.  Boise is penalized for the illegal bat from the spot of the ball and given a first down.  Was this correct under NCAA code?

Under NFHS, I think we'd rule that Boise didn't gain the ball with clean hands, treat this as a loose ball play, and enforce from the previous spot.  Do I have this correct for NFHS code?

[TXMike]

No it was not. It was a foul against B behind the NZ during a kick play so should have been enforced from prev spot which would have given A a 1st and goal.  This is one of the thkngs it seems to me the IR crew (if we are gonna have them) ought to be able to step in and help with.  They can stop the game for 5 minutes to determine if a 6 yard pass was completed in bounds or not but here a penalty is so misapplied that possession is  mistakenly awarded to the wrong team. 

[VALJ]

I thought that was either (a) really strange, or (b) incorrect.  I figured that NCAA would have some sort of equivalent of the NFHS "clean hands" rule.

And I agree with you completely about IR.  I was at a Va. Tech game against a I-AA.. um, "FCS"... team a couple of years back, and with about 5 minutes left and VT up by 25 or 30, they took 7 minutes to determine whether a catch was complete.  Tech was on defense, and it seemed to me that Coach Beamer was saying "hell, give them the football, let's just get the game over."