Tulsa kicks off to SMU and then improbably recovers kick for a touchdown
If you’ve been watching football for some time you’ve seen an onside kick recovered by the kicking team. You’ve probably also seen the kicking team score a touchdown after recovering a fumble by the returner. Have you ever seen a kicking team recover its own kick in the end zone for a touchdown?
That’s exactly what happened in Dallas on Saturday night. Tulsa scored to take a 10-6 lead on No. 24 SMU in the first half and kicked off to the Mustangs. And then SMU inexplicably didn’t field the kick.
As the kick bounced toward the end zone, Tulsa’s players kept chasing after it and Kendarin Ray fell on it. In the end zone. For a touchdown.
Seriously. This is how it happened.
Kicking teams are allowed to recover kickoffs that travel 10 yards or more without the receiving team needing to touch the football. But kicking teams can’t advance the ball. That’s why you never see an onside kick recovered by the kicking team and returned for any yardage.
Or why you see a kicking team recover its own kickoff and score a TD. After starting 5-0 for the first time in 36 years, SMU’s return team learned a harsh lesson: You need to field the ball at nearly all costs.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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