re: The Dumbest Rule in College Football

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At the end of the play the result is the same, the ball goes out of bounds. In one case the offense gets it back where it was fumbled and the other it’s a turnover. That’s dumb.

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Because the endzone is different than the rest of the field. It's the end goal of any drive. So once the ball reaches there, you better have possession to score points. If you don't, the drive ends.

It goes back to the spot of the fumble when it goes OOB in the middle of the field as an exception to stop cheap fumbles from getting extra yards at the perimeter. If you fumble it in the middle of the field and the offense recovers it before it goes OOB they get it at the spot of the recovery (outside of the 2 minutes in the half, the other exception). But once it crosses the endzone, there's no more advancement to be had so the drive ends, and if the offense never has possession of it in the endzone by the play's end, then the drive ends with no points. Touchback.

This isn't difficult to understand.