Touchback
Encyclopedia
In American football
, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line (i.e., in an end zone) and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus to travel over or across the goal line. Such impetus may be imparted by a kick, pass, fumble, or in certain instances by batting the ball. A touchback is not a play, but a result of events that may occur during a play. A touchback is the opposite of a safety with regard to impetus since a safety is scored when the defending team is responsible for the ball becoming dead behind or above its own goal.
Examples of instances where a touchback would be awarded include when:
, the team awarded the touchback receives possession of the ball at its own 20-yard line. In arena football
, and other indoor football games, a touchback results in the team awarded the touchback receiving the football at its own five-yard line. This can result from any of the above events except for punting, which is not a part of arena football. (In arena football, a kicked ball usually bounces back into play off of the rebound nets, but the above can still occur when the ball lands in the slack nets behind the goalposts after a kickoff, passes under the rebound nets and out of play, or in the event of fumbles and interceptions.)
, if a defensive player gains possession of the ball during a play between his own five-yard line and goal line and the player's original momentum carries him into the end zone, there is no touchback. Instead, the ball is dead at the point where possession changed. In the National Football League
, this rule applies only to pass interceptions (regardless of whether they occur inside the five-yard line).
, the failure to advance a kicked ball out of the goal area results in a single point
being scored by the kickers, as well as possession by the receivers at their 35-yard line. A turn-over by fumble or interception in the defense's goal area results in a scrimmage on the 25-yard line with no points awarded. In the Canadian game the term touchback is not used.
and eight-man football
on an 80-yard long field, a touchback is brought out to the 15-yard line.
attempts. If a missed field goal occurs in these leagues, where the other team receives possession of the ball depends on the spot from which the ball has been kicked. The ball will be placed either on the twenty or the line of scrimmage of the play in which the attempt was made in college football; either the twenty or the place from which the ball was kicked in the NFL. (In either case, the ball goes to the spot which is further from the goal line.) The purpose of this rule is to discourage low-percentage, long-range field goal attempts and to deemphasize the advantage which can accrue when only one team has a kicker who has a reasonable possibility of success from a great distance. In American high school football
(except in Massachusetts and Texas, which use college football rules), the missed field goal, regardless of where attempted on the field, results in a touchback as long as the attempt breaks the plane of the goal line, and in arena football, the field goal is treated as if it were a punt.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line (i.e., in an end zone) and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus to travel over or across the goal line. Such impetus may be imparted by a kick, pass, fumble, or in certain instances by batting the ball. A touchback is not a play, but a result of events that may occur during a play. A touchback is the opposite of a safety with regard to impetus since a safety is scored when the defending team is responsible for the ball becoming dead behind or above its own goal.
Examples of instances where a touchback would be awarded include when:
- A kickoff or punt enters the end zone and becomes dead behind the goal line without being advanced beyond the goal line by a player of the receiving team. Thus, a player on the receiving team could attempt to advance the ball out of his own end zone, but the original impetus from the kick remains as long as the ball does not completely cross the goal line into the field of play. Note that if a kick is fielded by the receiving team in its end zone, is advanced beyond the goal line, and then the ball carrier retreats back into his own end zone where the ball is downed, it is a safety because the impetus would then be charged to the receiving team.
- A kickoff or punt touches the ground in the receiving team's end zone before being touched by a player of the receiving team.
- A kickoff or punt goes out of bounds behind or over the receiving team's goal line.
- A ball carrier fumbles the ball within the field of play forward into his opponents end zone and the loose ball then goes out of bounds behind or above his opponent's goal line or is recovered and downed by an opposing player in the end zone. The opposing team would be awarded the touchback.
- A defensive player intercepts a forward pass in his own end zone and the ball becomes dead behind or over the goal line. Like the instance of a kickoff or punt fielded in an end zone, the intercepting player can attempt to advance the ball but it is still a touchback as long as the ball never completely crosses the goal line into the field of play before it is downed.
American football
In standard outdoor American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, the team awarded the touchback receives possession of the ball at its own 20-yard line. In arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
, and other indoor football games, a touchback results in the team awarded the touchback receiving the football at its own five-yard line. This can result from any of the above events except for punting, which is not a part of arena football. (In arena football, a kicked ball usually bounces back into play off of the rebound nets, but the above can still occur when the ball lands in the slack nets behind the goalposts after a kickoff, passes under the rebound nets and out of play, or in the event of fumbles and interceptions.)
College football
In college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, if a defensive player gains possession of the ball during a play between his own five-yard line and goal line and the player's original momentum carries him into the end zone, there is no touchback. Instead, the ball is dead at the point where possession changed. In the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, this rule applies only to pass interceptions (regardless of whether they occur inside the five-yard line).
Canadian football
In Canadian footballCanadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, the failure to advance a kicked ball out of the goal area results in a single point
Single (football)
In Canadian football, a single is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return, or kick, the ball out of its end zone...
being scored by the kickers, as well as possession by the receivers at their 35-yard line. A turn-over by fumble or interception in the defense's goal area results in a scrimmage on the 25-yard line with no points awarded. In the Canadian game the term touchback is not used.
Six- and Eight-Man football
For high schools which play six-man footballSix-man football
Six-man football is a variant of American football that is played with six players per team, instead of 11.-History:6-man football was developed in 1934 by Chester High School coach Stephen Epler as an alternative means for small high schools to field a football team during the Great Depression...
and eight-man football
Eight-man football
Eight-man football is a type of American football, generally played by small high schools. Rules and formations vary greatly among states and even among different organizations, but the one constant is eight players from each team on the field at one time, as opposed to eleven-man football, which...
on an 80-yard long field, a touchback is brought out to the 15-yard line.
Differences
A special rule applies in college football and the NFL with regard to field goalField goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
attempts. If a missed field goal occurs in these leagues, where the other team receives possession of the ball depends on the spot from which the ball has been kicked. The ball will be placed either on the twenty or the line of scrimmage of the play in which the attempt was made in college football; either the twenty or the place from which the ball was kicked in the NFL. (In either case, the ball goes to the spot which is further from the goal line.) The purpose of this rule is to discourage low-percentage, long-range field goal attempts and to deemphasize the advantage which can accrue when only one team has a kicker who has a reasonable possibility of success from a great distance. In American high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
(except in Massachusetts and Texas, which use college football rules), the missed field goal, regardless of where attempted on the field, results in a touchback as long as the attempt breaks the plane of the goal line, and in arena football, the field goal is treated as if it were a punt.