Oops.
The Big Ten admitted to a significant officiating mistake on Sunday that negatively impacted Oregon during a critical moment in their game against UCLA the day before—though, admittedly, this apology won’t change the outcome for the Ducks.
During a tense moment with just over two minutes remaining in their 17-15 loss at Autzen Stadium, Oregon attempted a potentially game-tying 2-point conversion. Officials flagged Bruins linebacker Sammy Omosigho for a facemask during quarterback Brock Thomas’ run that brought the ball to the 1-yard line.
Instead of correctly placing the ball half the distance to the goal line as the rules dictate, the officials penalized from the original line of scrimmage.
With the new spot at the 1½-yard line, Oregon tried again with a run play. Unfortunately for them, running back Jordon Davison was tackled by defensive tackle Tyson Ford, falling short of the end zone.
If the penalty had been called correctly, the Ducks would have only needed to cover half a yard to score.
The Big Ten acknowledged the error in a statement, mentioning that they are in communication with the officiating team from Saturday’s encounter and will reinforce the importance of consistently applying the rules.
In a dramatic twist, the Ducks regained possession later and managed a pass on the final play, which was lateraled, advancing to UCLA’s 33-yard line before Bruins defensive back Dante Lovett recovered a fumble to conclude the game.
This marked UCLA’s first victory over Oregon at Autzen Stadium since 2004, boosting UCLA’s record to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, and propelling them to No. 12 in the Associated Press rankings on Sunday.
Interestingly, the spotting error wasn’t the sole controversial call of the game.
Replays seemed to indicate that Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander threw a punch at UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s helmet after tackling him during the second quarter.
Iamaleava, who suffered a leg injury on the play, briefly left the field but returned for a short time before being replaced by backup Ty Dieffenbach in the second half.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney didn’t provide any updates on Iamaleava’s condition after the game.
