In College Football, why doesn’t the whistle blow when the holder spots the ball for a FG attempt? He has the ball and his knee is down.
I’m not sure about this, but I think that the rules are different because it’s a scrimmage kick play. The holder is not considered to be in possession of a live ball until and unless he raises his knee off the ground. At the point the play is no longer a kick, and normal rules of scrimmage are in force.
The NCAA football rules are available online (.pdf).
How does an official define a scrimmage kick play? What if the QB took a shotgun snap while on his knees?
When the official blows the play dead, could he not claim that the tailback was going to kick an 87 yard field goal?
I guess your link answered my question. They just put an exception into the rules. I still can’t see why you couldn’t just keep a guy behind the quarterback at all times and claim that he was trying to kick the ball…
Because referees aren’t so stupid as to believe that the team intends to attempt a field goal from their own 30 yard line?
Because you’d be stupid to devote a player to doing nothing but simulating a kick so that, in the odd event that a quarterback’s knee touches the ground, he wouldn’t be counted as down?
Because what you are proposing makes zero sense? :smack:
lol
I think DSY pretty much answered you, but look at it this way: a field goal is a called play that requires a different line-up and formation than a regular scrimmage play. This calls attention to the intent of the play, thereby bringing it under the rules for a scrimmage kick. Once something happens to break that play, the officials note it and then consider the play as a regular scrimmage play, and rule accordingly.
It isn’t a trial, and it’s not an argument. The officials are the judges, the jury, and the police and they have final say on the validity of what happens on the field. The coach can claim anything he wants, but the officials don’t even have to listen to him make the claims. It’s their decision, and theirs alone.
And, as DSY notes, what possible advantage could there be to keeping your team to 10+1 useless observer when the other team has 11 people playing defense?
Also, as I said before, keeping a guy behind the QB wouldn’t work unless the QB recieved the snap and then just stayed kneeling on the ground. Once the holder takes his knee off the ground, he is no longer the holder, he is in possession of a live ball in a scrimmage play, and can be tackled like anyone else (like a punter, or a running back, etc.).
Actually, AFAIK, the holder is entirely fair game for tackling even while he’s holding the ball on the ground. So, you could claim the QB was just holding for a kick, but since he is now under a pile of players from the other team, it doesn’t matter that he was holding for a kick, he’s been tackled.
In practice, the coach(es) would probably notify the referee(s) beforehand of such a trick play. AIUI, all trick plays (including fake field goals that are actually fourth down conversion attempts or two-point conversion attempts) are communicated to the referee(s) well before the snap, so that they’re prepared to make the right call.
I guess it’s just “one of those things”. No specific term, it’s just understood. I’ve always wondered why spiking the ball isn’t intentional grounding.
Especially when my team is leading and the opponent is trying to rally 
I always wonder why blocking the reciever on a fake punt is not pass interference. June Jones at Hawaii tried that once, knowing USC would block from the get-go on a punt. He hoped to get a pass interference call, but it didn’t work.
Because it’s in the rules that it’s allowed. This came up a few years ago when a QB double clutched on the spike and was flagged for grounding; you get one spike right after the snap, that is it. Anything like double clutching, faking the spike, or making an action like you’re going to pass/handoff ends your ability to spike it legally. I’ll try to dig up a cite on the player involved–I want to say Tim Couch, if only because that seems like something he’d do.