The Big Ten recently released a statement to address an officiating mistake made during the Nebraska Cornhuskers' win over the Maryland Terrapins last week. According to the Big Ten's statement, "officials incorrectly officiated Nebraska's final PAT attempt," which occurred with 6:35 remaining in the final quarter. Officials called roughing the snapper on Nebraska's missed PAT.
However, the Big Ten indicated that Nebraska should have been allowed to retry the PAT after the penalty was enforced half the distance to the goal. Instead, officials enforced the penalty yardage on "the subsequent kickoff." "The Big Ten has been in contact with its officiating team from Saturday's game regarding the error and will continue to emphasize consistent application of the playing rules," the Big Ten said in its statement. More news: Deion Sanders Pushes Back at Reporter Over Question About Colorado QB Decision Nebraska won by more than three touchdowns, 48-23, but the officiating error still drew strong criticism from fans who reacted to the Big Ten's statement and pointed to other issues involving many of the same officials.
"That was the worst crew I’ve ever witnessed. Fire the entire group and never let them do another game. They botched the Michigan-Western Michigan game as well," one individual commented.
"Maybe that crew shouldn’t work again since they don’t know rules and put time back on clocks when they shouldn’t," a commenter wrote. "That crew needs to be banned from Big Ten play. Too many mistakes in this season alone," another commenter said.
Others wrote, "Big 10 looking real bad this year with officiating," and "Get that crew off the field for the rest of the year yikes." Fan frustration is certainly understandable after the controversy surrounding the Michigan Wolverines' last-second touchdown to defeat the Western Michigan Broncos earlier this season. Western Michigan held the lead late in the game and thought it had recorded the upset victory after Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood's Hail Mary pass fell incomplete. However, the play was reviewed to check the clock, with a final second added, giving Michigan one more shot to score a game-winning touchdown.
That second chance was all Michigan needed, as its second Hail Mary pass found a receiver in the end zone to give the Wolverines a thrilling yet controversial walk-off win. Referee Jim Wharrie led the officiating crew that officiated that game, which, with only a few exceptions, featured the same officials who worked last week's Nebraska-Maryland game. Read more: USC Loses Key Starter to Season-Ending Injury Right Before Facing Washington For more about college football, head over to Newsweek Sports.
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