In Reply to: Re: A Question For Which I Do Not Know The Answer posted by UCLABB on February 16, 2026 at 11:49:35
I don't know what the rules said in 1996 (the first year of OT, IIRC), but the rules now state that "Each teams retains the ball during a possession series until it scores or fails to make a first down. THE BALL REMAINS ALIVE AFTER A CHANGE OF TEAM POSSESSION UNTIL IT IS DECLARED DEAD." (Rule 3, Extra Periods, Article 3.e.)
A ball is live when it is snapped. (Rule 2, Section 2; Rule 4, s. 1.) It alive until it is declared dead. (Rule 4, s. 1, Ball Declared Dead.) "A live ball becomes dead and an official shall sound their whistle or declare it dead" only in 18 circumstances, e.g., when it goes out of bounds, when any part of the ball carrier's body ... touches the ground, etc. Unless I missed it, none of those 18 circumstances state that a change in possession results in a dead ball.
That was a live ball in '96.