OFFICIAL RULES                     RULE 4 BALL IN PLAY, DEAD BALL, OUT OF BOUNDS                       PAGE 20
SECTION 1 --  BALL IN PLAY AND DEAD BALL.  A live ball becomes dead and an official shall sound his whistle or declare it dead when it goes out of bounds or the runner is legally deflagged or touched so forward progress is ended.

All provisions of NCAA Rule 4 that refer to fumbles and their recovery do not apply.

SECTION 2 --  DEFLAGGING TO END A SCRIMMAGE PLAY.

Article 1 - Deflagging.  A play is ended with the legal act of deflagging the ball carrier.  Deflagging is an act of a defender seizing one flag hanging from a belt about the ball-carrier's waist with enough force so its clasp opens and the flag with the belt is transferred to the Team B player's possession.  This act requires the Team B player to establish and maintain full possession of the detached flag and belt and to signal this accomplishment.

           NOTE:  This rule has an "all or nothing" meaning.  Either the flag-belt has been possessed by the defender or it has not.  A flag-belt de-clasped by a defender that is not possessed but catches on the clothing of the ball-carrier is not a legal deflagging and a down in which this occurs shall continue subject to the One-hand touch rule.

Article 2 - A Valid Deflagging.  Requirements for a valid deflagging are:
  1. The ball-carrier must have possession of the ball at the instant of deflagging.
    2.           EXAMPLE:  Team A's pass hits A1's hands and bounces in the air.  At the instant the pass was touched by A1, B1 deflags the receiver.  A1 then catches and possesses the ball.
              RULING:  B1's deflagging was not legal for A1 did not possess ball at the instant of the deflagging.  Play is to continue with A1 only to be stopped by the One-Hand Touch Rule.
  2. Defender must have one-foot flat on the ground during and at the end of the act.

  3. Defender must obtain possession of the flag-belt.  This requires the defender to demonstrate that the deflagging transferred actual possession of the flag-belt.  Grabbing or causing the flag-belt to be removed or loosened so it falls, without continuing its possession, are illegal acts to be ignored by referees who are to allow play to continue by Rule.

  4. Defenders in deflagging can not initiate any body contact with the ball-carrier not the result of a simultaneous attempt to deflag.  A defender legally can only contact a ball-carrier with a hand to the shoulder or upper-body simultaneous to the attempt to deflag.  Such bodily contact can not include a grab, hold, shove or push of the ball-carrier; any bodying that player; or, any physical obstruction of the ball-carrier's path of movement.  Defenders can grab a ball-carrier's clothing at the waist in the hope that such action will include a flag-belt.  To deflag means to seize the flag and not the belt.

  5. Deflagging must be signaled by the defender immediately stopping and raising the detached flag-belt above the head with an upraised arm.

  6. A detached flag-belt must be handed or tossed to the deflagged player or referee.  When a team's players first violates this requirement, the team is to be openly warned.  A second and any subsequent violations are subject to a delay penalty.  Note:  These delay penalty provisions apply after a team has been once warned despite different players on the team coming into violation.  A player who consistently violates the return requirement may be disqualified from the game.

  7. A play ends officially only by referee signal.
Article 3 - Illegal Acts in Deflagging.  The following are illegal deflagging acts:
  1. A push, shove, trip, or grab of the body or clothing of the ball-carrier or bodying that player.

    2. OFFICIAL RULES                     RULE 4 BALL IN PLAY, DEAD BALL, OUT OF BOUNDS                       PAGE 21
  2. Any push or shove of the ball-carrier out-of-bounds by use of the hands, arms or body without making a valid attempt to deflag simultaneous to such contact.  NOTE:  A defender can not push or shove a ball-carrier out-of-bounds simply to end a play.

  3. Use of a straight-arm or any other ball-carrier act that involves the hands, forearm, arms, shoulder or body to protect the flag-belt to include running into or creating physical contact with a defender.

  4. Intentionally deflagging a player who is not the ball-carrier.  A second such violation by the same player in a game may result in disqualification.

  5. Deflagging an opponent before a pass is legally possessed is an interference foul.
    6.  
    Penalty is to be advancement of the ball to the spot of the infraction or 15 yards (which ever is greater) and a first-down for the offended team. ground-arrows without direction of game referees; and, any attempt to change the location of any sideline arrow or down-box to influence game play is subject to warning, an escalating pattern of delay penalties and possible forfeit of the game.

  6. Intentionally leaving the feet to deflag.

  7. Players who fall in deflagging or those who fall after deflagging are not automatically guilty of a violation.

  8. A ball-carrier illegally deflagged who can continue to advance the ball shall be allowed to do so and can only be halted by application of the One-Hand Touch Rule.
SECTION 3 -- TOUCH SUBSTITUTED FOR DEFLAGGING.  The One-Hand Touch Rule becomes active when a ball-carrier is illegally or accidentally deflagged and the touch becomes the method by which the down is ended.  This rule requires the deflagged ball-carrier allowed to advance the ball be touched by one-hand applied with the palm open to the jersey area above the waist and below the neck.  This touch can not be two-handed nor involve any push, shove or force.

SECTION 4 -- FLAG-BELT VERIFICATION DURING A GAME AND AFTER SCORES.  Game referees will inspect player flag-belts and disqualify a person guilty of a violation.  When a flag-belt can not be removed by one simple pull, a violation may exist.  Referees are to inspect the flag-belt of any player involved in a play when a seized flag-belt does not detach as expected.  In such cases, the player can not touch nor adjust the flag-belt prior to the referee inspection under threat of immediate disqualification.  All yardage gained on a play which has a flag-belt violation is lost;  the ball returned to the prior down's spot; the down lost; and, the offending player's team penalized 20 yards.

A player who scores from the field (any touchdown and extra-point conversions by run or pass), must have a referee verify the validity of the score by being immediately deflagged by an official.  Such a scoring player while still possessing the ball must report to the closest referee and submit to a flag-belt verification deflagging.This action requires the scoring player raise the arms to allow the referee to deflag.  The flag-belt must detach with one simple pull.  If the flag-belt does not detach as expected, the referee shall immediately inspect the flag-belt to ascertain if a violation as to its attachment exists.  If a violation is discovered, the touchdown is disallowed, the violator disqualified, the down lost to the violator's team which is to be penalized 20 yards from the previous spot for an unsportsmanlike violation.  If the flag-belt does detach as expected, the referee is to immediately signal a touchdown and then receive the ball from the scoring player who will either hand or toss the ball to that game official.

SECTION 5 -- UNUSUAL FORMATION.  In a league that makes interior linemen ineligible to touch a legal forward pass, a team that would use an unusual formation in which such linemen are made eligible, must do the following to avoid being charged with an unfair act:  1) before the game provide the officials with a diagram and explanation of the unusual formation that must include the game conditions in which it might be used; and, 2) inform the referee immediately before the formation is used in a game.  Referees are to invalidate the results of any play from an unusual formation when the team failed to follow the provisions of this Rule together with a penalty for unfair action.

OFFICIAL RULES                     RULE 4 BALL IN PLAY, DEAD BALL, OUT OF BOUNDS                       PAGE 22
SECTION 6 -- PROHIBITION ON TEAM GAINING ADVANTAGE FROM ITS MISPLAY.  A team may not gain any advantage in yardage nor game-timing through a misplay or error by its players.

A ball bobbled in advance but not possessed is to have such movement discounted and the ball returned to the initial spot of player contact with the ball.

Similarly, the yardage gained from team misplay (bad snap, muff, fumbled backwards pass) is to be discounted and the ball returned to the point where the player contact with the ball began the forward movement with the next down set at this spot.

When a question exists as to the proper spot for the ball after a team misplay, the best advantageous spot for the erring team is to be selected.

SECTION 7 -- BOBBLED ADVANCE OF THE BALL.  The ball may not legally be advanced by players who touch but do not fully maintain possession of the ball.  Bobbling is the physical act of keeping a touched ball from falling to the ground without establishing possession.  This Rule applies on all offensive plays and a defensive return of a kick or fumble caught in the air.  A pass never fully possessed is incomplete.

Article 1 - Bobbled Kick Reception.  The ball can not legally be advanced by a player not having it in full possession.  On a kick return the ball advanced by bobbling that then falls to the ground is to be returned to the spot where the kick was first touched by the player who bobbled it.  Yardage covered while the ball was never possessed is to be discounted.  If the start of bobbling the ball was in the end-zone with the ball being carried by bobbling onto the field, the proper spot for the next down is the receiving team's one-yard line.

       EXAMPLE:  B3 receives a punt at the 10 yard-line but is not able to fully obtain possession while advancing to the 27 yard-line where the ball finally falls to the ground.  RULING:  B3 never had possession of the ball and the advance is disallowed with the ball spotted for the next down at Team B's 10 yard-line.

       EXAMPLE:  B4 receives a punt in Team B's end-zone and while not fully possessing the ball is able to advance across the goal to the team's eight-yard line where the ball finally falls to the ground.  RULING:  B4 never had possession of the ball and the advance is disallowed.  This disallowance would place the ball in Team B's end-zone.  Touch-back protection is lost to the team when one of it's players by intent seeks to advance the ball from an end-zone and moves five or more yards while bobbling the ball in this advance.  Such a team can not be charged with a safety, but it can not receive touch-back protection so the next series of downs will begin at that team's one-yard line.

Article 2 - Possession Interlude on Bobbled Receptions.  When a player first bobbles, gains possession, and then loses possession of a kick, pass or legally caught fumble; the ball is to be spotted for the next down at the place the player last had possession.