Fox's Chris Petersen 'sick' over refs controversial Minnesota-Michigan onside kick call

Michigan football did just about all it could to squander a three-touchdown lead, but got some help from the referees late in the fourth quarter to hold off Minnesota, 27-24, on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

Minnesota linebacker Matt Kingsbury was ruled offsides on the onside kick, which the Golden Gophers recovered at the Wolverines ' 38-yard line with 1:36 to play and trailing 27-24. Kingsbury recovered the kick after it bounced past Michigan's coverage team.

"I'm sick to my stomach right now, I really am," Fox analyst Chris Petersen, the former longtime Boise State and Washington head coach , said postgame. "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, that ball's kicked. That's not egre- ... what are we doing, let the kids play.

"We would always say, one play is never gonna lose you the game, one play can win you the game, but when it comes down to an official's call? You know how hard it is to execute an onsides kick? ... And then they got it, they did it perfectly, and then it's taken away? I don't like that at all, that is so frustrating, that's why I'm not coaching right now."

Mike Pereira, Fox's rules analyst, disagreed with the call in real time on the broadcast. It was "awfully close," he said.

"I don't think he's offside. ... I don't think he's breaking the plane," Pereira said. The play is not reviewable.

Tyler Morris, a senior receiver who is on the Wolverines' hands team and was out there for both onside kick attempts, said it was a "relief" once he realized the official's offsides call.

"Them recovering it, it definitely brought up a lot of feelings," Morris said. "We knew we had to stick it out again and just hope that our defense could hold them to not even getting the field goal. And once we realized that they were offsides, it was definitely just a lot of relief."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fox's Chris Petersen 'sick' over refs controversial Minnesota-Michigan onside kick call