Reading a thread on another forum with a different rule set, here we go, again with another apparent difference. And, since some folks have to use both rule sets in the same season, and many folks transition from one set to the other each season, those working NCAA simply have to know the rule for NCAA.
4/G, B-5, 0:15 (4), A=20, B=21.
Potential holder A11 muffs the snap, and the ball falls to the ground, and bounces away from A11. Potential kicker A5 attempts to kick the bouncing loose ball, but misses the ball entirely. The ball bounces back toward the neutral zone where rusher B99 attempts to recover the rolling ball but muffs the ball at the B-6, and the ball (miraculously) passes through the mass of bodies at the neutral zone and rolls into B's end zone. B77 falls on the rolling loose ball and secures possession of it behind the goal line while he is lying on the ground, with 0:03 on the game clock.
Ruling:
Impetus on the ball was originated with the snap (backward pass). A11's muff of the moving ball did not change the impetus; impetus remained with the snap. B99's muff of the ball did not change the impetus on the ball; impetus remained with the snap. When the ball became dead behind B's goal line, and in Team B's legal possession, impetus was still with the snap. When the attacking team is responsible for the ball being on/above/beyond the defending team's goal line when it becomes dead in legal possession of the defending team, the result is a TOUCHBACK. B, 1/10, B-20, 0:03 (4), snap (play clock at 25 seconds and will start on the referee's signal).
(In NCAA football, the only way a muff (as defined) can change the impetus on the ball is if the ball has come to complete - COMPLETE - rest when contacted by a player.)
