Spike (gridiron football)

In gridiron football, a spike of the ball is a play in which the quarterback intentionally throws the ball at the ground immediately after the snap and is principally used as part of clock management by a team on offense. A spike is technically an incomplete pass, and therefore, it has the effect of stopping the clock at the cost of exhausting a down. A spike is performed when the offensive team is conducting a hurried drive near the end of the first half or of the game, and the game clock is still running in the aftermath of the previous play; as an incomplete pass the spike causes the referee to stop the game clock, and the offensive team will have a chance to huddle and plan the next play without losing scarce game-clock time.

A spike is not considered intentional grounding if it is done with the quarterback under center and immediately after the snap. No penalty is assessed.

Running a spike play presumes there will be at least one play by the same team immediately afterward, so it would not be done on fourth down; instead, a regular play would have to be run without a huddle.

In the 1998 Rose Bowl, Ryan Leaf spiked the ball and inadvertently ran the clock out on that play. In the 2012 Rose Bowl, Russell Wilson also ran the clock out on a spike ball play. In both cases, just before such spike, the clock was stopped with just 2 seconds left (while the sideline chains were being moved for 1st down, the usual procedure when playing under college football rules).

In 2014, Nick Montana spiked the ball on 4th down near the end of the first half of a game between his Tulane University and UCF, resulting in a turnover on downs; he erroneously believed his team had gained a first down.[1]

In Canadian football, spike plays are legal but very rare. This is mainly because a final play is always run whenever the game clock expires while the ball is dead, rendering spike plays unnecessary. Also, the offense in Canadian football only receives three downs instead of four.