It Took Oregon-Michigan Refs Only One Quarter To Win The ‘Worst Missed Call Of The Year’ Award

Tomorrow, I hope I see a news headline that reads something like “NCAA Fires All Officiating Crew Members From Michigan-Oregon Game.” Think I’m overreacting? Allow me to convince you otherwise.

As I was saying, the No. 1 Ducks and the Wolverines were facing off in Ann Arbor, and the Ducks marched all the way down to the one-yard line on their opening possession. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel decided to throw a fade route to Evan Stewart for the score.

When I saw that, I was like “Dang, that sucks (I’m a Michigan fan). But that was a great play.”

Except, was it?

I thought sure as day Oregon just put up six points on the board. But when the CBS broadcast came back from the commercial break, I saw the truth.

Stewart dropped the ball – in front of the line judge no less – and it was clear as day that he did. The ball slipped through his hands, bounced off the ground, and was thus incomplete. However, the officiating crew for some reason didn’t ask for the play to be reviewed, so the game continued with the Ducks having a 7-0 lead they shouldn’t have had.

I’m livid. Pissed. Disgustified (that’s a word, right?). The ref was maybe, maybe 15 feet from the “catch,” and yet he somehow didn’t see the plain as day drop. He might be brothers with the guy who missed the Sam Darnold facemask call. 

But even with that miss, the replay system was invented to make sure that a ref’s boneheaded – and highly consequential – decision could be fixed. However, those in the replay room must have chosen to take a nap as this play unfolded, because they also failed in a big way to do the most basic function in their job description: TELL THE REFS TO REVIEW THE FREAKING PLAY.

So yeah, these guys need to get fired. And I’m not the only one who’s mad at this outcome either.