With a 5-person crew in Colorado, the back judge is responsible for the goal line when the ball is snapped outside the B-10. The back judge will be the only official to signal “touchdown.”
The back judge needs to communicate goal line responsibilities when the ball is snapped near the B-10, especially if the ball is moved outside the B-10 following a Team A penalty. If the crew employs radios, I recommend the back judge say, “wings have the goal line” or “back judge has the goal line” instead of “you have the goal line” or “I have the goal line.”
The back judge starts on the goal line when the ball is snapped between the B-25 and B-15.
The back judge may be anywhere between the goal line and the middle of the end zone when the ball is snapped between the B-15 and B-10. If the back judge reads run, he must hustle forward to the goal line and be stationary when the ball arrives.
In Colorado, when the ball is snapped outside the B-10, the back judge is responsible for forward progress inside the B-2.
If the ball is thrown into the end zone, the back judge must be prepared to rule on the goal line and the end line, depending on the pass distance. On a passing play, the back judge retreats from his position only if receivers enter the end zone and should never have players behind him in the end zone.
If a runner crosses the goal line near a pylon, he must wait for a signal from the appropriate wing official before he signals a touchdown to ensure the runner did not step out of bounds. Colorado wings “punch in” to the field of play to signal the runner did not step out of bounds before crossing the goal line.
On long runs, when a runner breaks free of defenders, the wings do not need to hustle to the goal line. We only want one set of eyes on the ball. The wings should look for unnecessary roughness and blindside blocks behind the runner. On long runs, headhunters will pick out targets behind the play.
Wings will not signal “touchdown” if the back judge is responsible for the goal line.
Quiz
Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer(s). (Choose all that apply.)
Free kick from the K-40. K77 muffs the ball at the R-45. R33 picks up the ball at the R-40, runs, and fumbles at midfield where K44 recovers.
- The game clock will start when K77 muffs the ball
- The game clock will start when R33 picks up the ball
- 1/10 for Team R at the R-45
- 1/10 for Team K at midfield
Review Rules 2-12-1, 2-28-1, 3-4-5, and 6-1-7