Be the Referee: Forward Fumble
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
September 9, 2025
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Forward Fumble - Listen
We have a Football “You Make the Call” for you today.
Team A has the ball at their 20-yard line. Team A’s quarterback gets the snap and starts running toward the sideline.
He’s tackled and fumbles the ball forward, towards the sideline. The ball rolls forward four yards and goes out of bounds before anyone can recover it.
Whose ball is it, and where is it marked?
Since the offense fumbled the ball, it went out of bounds and it wasn’t recovered by anyone, it remains the offense’s ball.
But the ball is marked back to the spot of the fumble. There’s no advantage to fumbling the ball forward.
If the ball had been fumbled backwards and out of bounds with no recovery, then the offense would retain possession where the ball went out of bounds.
Previous 2025-26 editions
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen
Be the Referee: Fumble Out of Bounds
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
August 25, 2026
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen
We are on the football field today, where the offense has the ball on their own 20-yard line. It’s 3rd-and 10. They run a draw play, with the running back gaining nine yards before fumbling at the 29 yard-line.
The fumbled ball goes forward to the 35-yard line before another offensive player recovers. Where should the ball be marked?
Because the ball was recovered in-bounds, it’s first down for the offense at the point of recovery, the 35-yard line.
If the ball had rolled out of bounds at the 35-yard line, before anyone could recover it, it would have been brought back to the spot of the fumble – the 29-yard line – making it 4th-and-1 for the offense.
(Photo by Larry Arreguin/Team Arreguin Photos.)