Ad Disclosure
Rose Bowl officiating draws questionable marks for first-half performance
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Rose Bowl officiating has been a bit off, to say the least, with a crew from the Big 12 struggling in the first half.
For what it’s worth, the issues have not been limited to one side of the ball. At one point, Michigan’s special teams unit dodged a bullet after a rusher ran through the leg of Alabama’s punter but was not called for a penalty.
Then, Michigan’s offense was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a play that felt ordinary to many people. Instead of being viewed as simply finishing a block, the Wolverines were set behind the sticks with a 15-yard penalty.
The officiating produced yet another questionable call on Alabama’s final drive of the half. After a big connection from Jalen Milroe to Isaiah Bond, the officials spotted the ball a few yards ahead of where the play appeared to go out of bounds.
The refs spotted this at the 45 ??? Lol pic.twitter.com/Fiq1w1kV8j
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 1, 2024
Altogether, it has been a rocky half for the officiating crew, especially considering the stakes on the line in the College Football Playoff. We’ll see if things improve, but fans were left less than thrilled by the officials:
Great catch but that spot is like 4 yards off lmao how are the refs that bad
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 1, 2024
42, 45, same difference ? https://t.co/yFnJksgtWI
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) January 1, 2024
Went back and rewound and sure enough, the official on this sideline ahead of the catch marked the ball almost three yards ahead of where Bond went out of bounds. https://t.co/MlYLzULD5s
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 1, 2024
Welcome to the bama bias https://t.co/gDh7fuDKkb
— Erich (@Noleguy1383) January 1, 2024
This entire first half has been fixed for Michigan https://t.co/oWrLdp6Zmj
— Ryan Cameron (@RealRyanCameron) January 1, 2024
Wait, what? https://t.co/NrjLXLXsWA
— 5127GATA (@5127GATA) January 1, 2024
Imagine that https://t.co/jTpHwC2tpd
— BWNOLES (@bwnoles) January 1, 2024
Lol these refs are awful https://t.co/35EdlxRGEb
— Kyle Baker (@KyleMBaker19) January 1, 2024
Duh, Bama caught it https://t.co/M9EXYsEZLu
— Connor (@connor_n_25) January 1, 2024
— x – Prince Ferragamo (@Carl_noWinslow) January 1, 2024
It doesn’t surprise me considering this is the big 12 crew https://t.co/olhTPHEyXf
— PittsSZN? (@MossedByPitts) January 1, 2024
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
