Ya, however, in the college game you are down as soon as a knee, elbow, hip, etc hits the ground. Eli was never touched down, so the ground was allowed to cause the fumble.
As to the original topic, I would agree with the OP. In one of my recent games, I dove with my QB toward the goal line after scrambling out of the pocket. My QB fumbled 1 INCH from the goal line WITHOUT ever being touched by anyone. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me...