The Trojans were on the wrong end of a bad call that led to the decisive points for Notre Dame.
And Pac-12 officials were responsible.
If you missed it …
The Trojans were trailing 20-13 late in the third quarter but had momentum.
On third-and-six near midfield, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book threw an incomplete pass.
It should have been fourth down/punt/USC ball.
But the officials called Trojans linebacker Palaie Gaoteote for roughing the passer.
The first down led to an Irish field goal.
Those three points became the difference in Notre Dame’s 30-27 win.
But teplay showed Gaoteote wasn’t guilty of roughing the passer:
The contact wasn’t unreasonably late; the force of the contact was to Book’s side, not head or chest; and the process of taking Book to the field wasn’t punishing.
In other words: Gaoteote didn’t drive Book into the ground.
Terry McAulay, the former NFL official who serves as NBC’s rules expert, was clear in his dislike for the call — not once but twice: On the initial review and then again a few minutes later.
Helton understandably blew a gasket.
Although the play ultimately impacted the outcome of the game, it might not qualify for public comment under the criteria set by the conference:
Game-ending call or no-call impacting the result of the game;
Call involving a significant error in officiating mechanics;
Call involving an error in rules interpretation; or
Other extraordinary circumstances
The roughing call wasn’t, for example, as directly responsible for the outcome as the missed call on the field goal in the Michigan State-ASU game.
(Pac-12 officials missed a vaulting penalty on the Sun Devils that should have given MSU a second attempt to force overtime.)
Apparently, the Upper Midwest brings out the worst in Pac-12 officials.
A controversial roughing the passer penalty on USC resulted in a field goal for Notre Dame that became the decisive points in Notre Dame’s 30-27 win.
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