[Husker] Returning a Lateral

[Mike Nolan]

> Can someone tell me when the rule was changed that allows the advancement of a lateral by the defense?  
> 
> That Ganz "fumble", was in fact, a lateral and I was under the impression that you can't advance a lateral once it has hit the ground.

It used to be the case, several decades ago, that a fumbled lateral could
not be advanced by the defense, but I believe that rule was changed in
the 70's or early 80's.

Under the current rules, a fumbled lateral is a backwards (or sideways) 
pass that can be recovered and advanced by the defense, even if it hits 
the ground.  Of course, a forward pass that hits the ground is incomplete 
and the play is dead.

I think those calls are reviewable as long as the whistle is not blown.  

If the whistle is blown (ie, calling it an incomplete pass), then the 
play is not reviewable, because players are expected to let up once
the whistle blows.  

However, just because a play is reviewable, that doesn't mean the game
gets stopped for further review.  That's one of the areas where the choice
of the replay official can have a big impact on the game.  Of course in
the case of the Gator Bowl, CBS's camera coverage was so poor that there
may not have been a good camera angle on it anyway.  
--
Mike Nolan