Penalties - Fair catch subject to refs?

[gigemaggs99]

Are some penalties subjected to the refs on the field?

I ask b/c it seems like last night the punt returned called for a fair catch, but when he caught it he took off running. They threw a flag and gave him "delay of game 5 yards".

Just now in the Alabama vs Penn St, the Penn St returner called for a fair catch but picked up the ball and ran with it, the refs blew the play dead but didn't throw a flag.

[JeffHCross]

Are you talking about a real game "last night"? Since you posted this in the video game forum, I'm not sure.

Just now in the Alabama vs Penn St, the Penn St returner called for a fair catch but picked up the ball and ran with it, the refs blew the play dead but didn't throw a flag.

That's accurate. If a "fair catch" is called for but the ball hits the ground, the fair catch is waived and standard rules apply.

[gigemaggs99]

Sorry I figured I could post this here, it says General Discussion NCAA Football.

Yes last night in the ASU vs Mizzu game and then today.

Todays' game he waved for a fair catch, then the ball bounced and he picked it up and started running with it. The refs blew it dead and the annoucers said he couldn't advance it since he waved for a fair catch. However there was no penalty like last night when he too waved for a fair catch. The only difference I see is the ball bounced, but both returners attempted to advance the ball.

I didn't know 1 was a penalty and the other wasn't. Still seems like they are doing the same thing.

[JeffHCross]

Sorry I figured I could post this here, it says General Discussion NCAA Football.

Right. It means General Discussion of NCAA Football, the video game series.

College Football discussion goes here: http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/for...rts-Discussion

You're not the first to make the mistake, and I'm sure you won't be the last. No worries.

I didn't know 1 was a penalty and the other wasn't. Still seems like they are doing the same thing.

According to the NFL rulebook "Any undue advance by a fair catch receiver is delay of game." The same penalty applies to the college game, though it's not directly called a delay of game. Sounds like they got it right in the ASU/Mizzou event. It was signaled, fielded, and then advanced. That's a penalty.

As far as I was aware, if the ball hits the ground (rather than being fielded), the fair catch is off and it's subject to the normal kicked ball rules. Apparently, that is not the case. The Fair Catch means that no player from the receiving team may advance the ball, including a "recovered" ball. There should have been a 5 yard penalty in this case too.

[stanfordfan1]

when i play ncaa 12 i never get penalized the cpu doesnt either