There have been some pretty bad calls made by officials over the years, but the egregious nature of the onside kick recovery penalty in the Michigan vs. Minnesota game is up there with the worst of them.
In case you missed it, Minnesota executed the perfect choppy bouncing onside kick that went through the Michigan line of hands crew specialists. Minnesota's players sprinted through the line and took a dive on the ball right on the sideline, securing the onside kick recovery . But then of course officials incorrectly threw a flag on the play, calling a Minnesota player offsides.
Michigan fans might beg to differ since the official's call essentially locked in the victory for them, but it's hard to ignore how blatantly wrong it was. In fact, the Fox Sports commentators and even post-game analysts couldn't help themselves. They all completely annihilated the officials for their complete ineptitude.
Just look at the post below from Matt Schick of ESPN. It shows the moment at which the ball was kicked. No one was across the line. It's unlikely that even a portion of anyone's helmet was fully across the line.
Mike Hill, a long-time Fox Sports analyst immediately noted the fact that Minnesota could have completed their crazy comeback had the correct call been made.
"Minnesota probably could have tied this game had they gotten the right call, but they got kind of jilted on the onside kick."
But Chris Petersen took it a step further. He just simply could not believe how officials could possibly make such a completely wrong call, saying that the officials just "made something up" (full comments in post below).
"I'm sick to my stomach. I really am. I mean, I just hate to see this. When the officials are making something up. Like, I don't know why they would throw that flag. To me, these are always close calls. But what are we doing? Let the kids play. And we'd always say, 'One play is never going to lose you the game, but one play can win you the game.' But when it comes down to an officials call?"
Even when some controversial calls seem wrong, very rarely do entire broadcast crews just throw officials under the bus. It will be interesting to see if the officials are actually suspended following this absurd game-changing error.
Michigan fans rejoice now for the second week in a row as the Wolverines offense has nearly cost them against both USC and Minnesota. This lucky streak of fortune is likely going to come to an end when Michigan plays against legitimate teams (like in their Texas loss). Michigan is going to have to make some major changes on offense if they want to win many games moving forward. The referees won't be able to save them every single week.
Related: Michigan saved by the referees as Minnesota nearly exploits Wolverines' key weakness on offense
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