College football puzzle

A person was attending a college baseball game (NCAA Division 1, if you want to be picky). The game ended, and the person noticed that had it been a football game between those schools, the final score would not be possible, but there were no 'impossible' football scores in which the combined total points was higher than that.

What was the final score of the game?

(There is no trick involving the schools involved - that's just there to show that NCAA Football Rules are being used. Had they been high schools using NFHS football rules, the answer would be the same.)

I'll supply a hint in ROT13: Abgvpr juvpu ehyrf V fnvq pbhyq or hfrq...naq abgr n pregnva frg bs ehyrf gung jnf abg vapyhqrq

Don Del Grande [Original problem preserved as spoiler space]:

Ted Scheurzinger:

Well, I've never even seen a college baseball game, but it seems likely to me that the trick is that a 1-1 game is possible there, and therefore is the correct answer.

Check out these two sites:
www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2001/ 2001_football_rules.pdf www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2002/2002_baseball_rules.pdf

It may help interpret the question better.

I did not spot any major rule differences in scoring; so therefore, we will interpret it as the Majors' do - there is still one clarification; 'in the event of a tie, the umpire shall declare it NO GAME and neither team shall experience a win or loss.' In football, under NCAA Rule 8-12 (section 1, article 2), it states (though i may be mistaken) the the score in a forfeited game shall be 0-1 in favor of the forfeitees. This way, without any further evidence, I conclude that there is ONE possibility of scores:

0-0 (no game) is not a situation; NCAA football teams shall play as many quarters of extra time as needed to declare a winner UNTIL STATE CURFEW IS IN EFFECT.

1-0 is not possible; This score is possible in the event of a forfeit in football.

1-1 is the only possible solution; There is no way in NCAA football that BOTH TEAMS acheive a score of 1.

Purpx bhg gurfr gjb fvgrf:

jjj.apnn.bet/yvoenel/ehyrf/2001/2001_sbbgonyy_ehyrf.cqs jjj.apnn.bet/yvoenel/ehyrf/2002/2002_onfronyy_ehyrf.cqs

Vg znl uryc vagrecerg gur dhrfgvba orggre.

V qvq abg fcbg nal znwbe ehyr qvssreraprf va fpbevat; fb gurersber, jr jvyy vagrecerg vg nf gur Znwbef' qb - gurer vf fgvyy bar pynevsvpngvba; 'va gur rirag bs n gvr, gur hzcver funyy qrpyner vg AB TNZR naq arvgure grnz funyy rkcrevrapr n jva be ybff.' Va sbbgonyy, haqre APNN Ehyr 8-12 (frpgvba 1, negvpyr 2), vg fgngrf (gubhtu v znl or zvfgnxra) gur gur fpber va n sbesrvgrq tnzr funyy or 0-1 va snibe bs gur sbesrvgrrf. Guvf jnl, jvgubhg nal shegure rivqrapr, V pbapyhqr gung gurer vf BAR cbffvovyvgl bs fpberf:

0-0 (ab tnzr) vf abg n fvghngvba; APNN sbbgonyy grnzf funyy cynl nf znal dhnegref bs rkgen gvzr nf arrqrq gb qrpyner n jvaare HAGVY FGNGR PHESRJ VF VA RSSRPG.

1-0 vf abg cbffvoyr; Guvf fpber vf cbffvoyr va gur rirag bs n sbesrvg va sbbgonyy.

1-1 vf gur bayl cbffvoyr fbyhgvba; Gurer vf ab jnl va APNN sbbgonyy gung OBGU GRNZF npurvir n fpber bs 1.

You misunderstood the question. It's not that each team's score is impossible in football, but the score of both teams taken together as a result is impossible.

Another hint: it's not a 1-1 tie.

and later was pressed to give this clarification:

And because NCAA football games can't end in ties, it sure seems like the set of impossible two-team totals has no upper limit.

What's the answer?

Bob H

I'll include SPOILER SPACE in case you're still working on it 40

35

30

25

20

15

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

The score was 7-1.

It IS possible for a team to score exactly one point in college or high school football - if the opponents score a touchdown and then give up a safety on the extra point. (That's why I said it's 'not particularly real life' - it's hard to give up a safety when you have to lose 97 yards on a single play.) Both the NCAA and NFHS rules say that a safety on a try for point is worth 1 point.

However, in order to score the one, the opponents have to score a touchdown, and they don't score on the conversion (since that's the play where they gave up the safety).

If a team scores 6 points, they can score 8, 10, 12, and so on, with any number of safeties; they can score 9 points with a field goal; they can score 11, 13, 15, and so on, with a field goal and safeties. 7, however, is impossible. as they can't score a single point to add to the 6 without the opponents scoring a touchdown of their own.

(The only other impossible scores in football are 1-0 (unless you count a forfeit), 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, and 5-1.)

Cool. I've learned something new today.

Looking at the 2001 NCAA rulebook (from the URL posted earlier in this thread), it's not clear to me that the defensive team (team could be awarded a safety on an extra point try (by team A). The more likely occurence is that team A makes a safety. This could happen by team A fumbling into the endzone, and a player from team B picking it up and trying to advance it, coming out of the end zone then re-entering the end zone then getting tackled. And I see that covered in the rulebook (under approved ruling 8-3-2). Probably even more likely is team B commits a penalty in the end zone (holding, clipping) while returning the fumble.

Rule 8.1.1 (page 96) doesn't make a distinction about which team can score a 1-point safety. So I guess it could happen. It'd be one crazy play. Team A tries for the extra point, fumbles, team B picks it up, runs the length of the field, publes into the other end zone, team A picks it up and returns it, but team A has a penalty in the end zone.

I hope to see that happen in the Bowl Collusion Series championship game.

Bob H