Scenario: Fielding punts, little time left

[ELTEXAN]

From 2014: Why does a team field a punt when there's only seconds left on the clock?
You're obviously not going to set up a scoring drive with only a few seconds left in the half.
You're signaling fair catch, so you're not going to run it back.

So, why try to field it? What are you guarding against? That the ball rolls to the half yard line and then maybe get a safety against you on the next play? How is that a concern compared to muffing the punt, possibly turning it over, and then giving the opponent a free FG or TD?

 

[ELTEXAN]

OKST was smart enough to not try to field that last ISU punt.

 

[iowajerms]

From 2014: Why does a team field a punt when there's only seconds left on the clock?
You're obviously not going to set up a scoring drive with only a few seconds left in the half.
You're signaling fair catch, so you're not going to run it back.

So, why try to field it? What are you guarding against? That the ball rolls to the half yard line and then maybe get a safety against you on the next play? How is that a concern compared to muffing the punt, possibly turning it over, and then giving the opponent a free FG or TD?

As an Iowa fan in 2022, I trust the punt returner more than the offense.