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Whoops.
The Big Ten issued a mea culpa Sunday for an officiating error that cost Oregon yardage on a pivotal play the previous day against UCLA – not that it’s going to do the Ducks any good now.
When Oregon went for what would have been a tying 2-point conversion with 2:16 left during its 17-15 loss at Autzen Stadium, officials threw a flag for a facemask on Bruins linebacker Sammy Omosigho on quarterback Brock Thomas’ run to the 1-yard line.
Instead of spotting the ball half the distance to the goal from the end of the run – as they should have done, per rules – officials marked off the penalty from the original line of scrimmage.
Given a second attempt from the 1½-yard line, Oregon tried another run. But running back Jordon Davison was stuffed by defensive tackle Tyson Ford short of the goal line.
Had the ball been spotted correctly, the Ducks would have only had to go half a yard.
“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 conference said in a statement.
The Ducks later got the ball back and completed a pass on the final play that was lateraled, eventually reaching UCLA’s 33-yard line before a fumble was recovered by Bruins defensive back Dante Lovett to end the game.
It was the Bruins’ first victory over Oregon at Autzen Stadium since 2004 and helped propel UCLA (5-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) to No. 12 in the Associated Press rankings on Sunday.
Of course, the spotting mistake might have not been the only missed call in the game.
Replays appeared to show Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander landing a punch to UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava’s helmet after he combined to bring the quarterback to the turf in the second quarter.
Iamaleava suffered what was announced as a leg injury on the play. He left for one play and briefly returned before departing for good and being replaced by backup Ty Dieffenbach in the second half.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney did not have an update on Iamaleava’s status after the game.