In the video clip below, we have a legal forward pass that ends up simultaneously possessed by airborne offensive and defensive players. The defensive player in joint possession of the ball appears to return to the field of play in his own end zone prior to the offensive player. The ruling on the field by the side judge was touchdown.
Is this play a touchdown or an interception? Did the crew get it right?
The correct answer, of course, is… it depends.
This play highlights one of the areas where the NFHS (high school) and NCAA (college) rule sets differ.
Under NFHS rules, “a forward pass, legal or illegal, is complete and may be advanced when caught by any player A or B. If a forward pass is caught simultaneously by two opponents, the ball becomes dead and belongs to the passing team. (7-5-4)”. Since possession of a live ball in the opponents end zone is always a touchdown (8-2-1), this play would result in a touchdown under Federation rules.
Under NCAA rules, the legal forward pass is considered completed or intercepted by the player who first returns to the ground in bounds when joint possession is established with both players in the air (AR 7-3-6 II). In this case since the defensive player returned to the ground on the field of play first, the play would result in an interception. Since the ball became dead in possession of a player behind the goal line and the offense was responsible for the ball being there (8-6-1 [a]), the play results in a touchback under NCAA rules.
This is a high school game played under NFHS rules between the Blackhawk Cougars and Montour Spartans in Pennsylvania.
The side judge was in perfect position and ruled correctly, touchdown!
Touchback, Touchdown