The Big Ten admitted to a major mistake in a huge moment that could end up having huge effects on the conference title race and ultimately the chase for a national championship.
The mistake happened in Saturday afternoon’s UCLA-Oregon showdown in Eugene, and it specifically occurred on Oregon’s 2-point conversion try that could’ve tied the game at 17-17 with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, the Ducks’ run conversion failed and UCLA held on for a titanic 17-15 victory at Autzen Stadium to improve to 5-0. Meanwhile, Oregon fell to 3-2, which makes what happened with the Big Ten officiating that much more important, since now the Ducks’ path to a potential national championship is on life support.
According to ESPN insider Pete Thamel, the Big Ten on Sunday admitted to the error: “Big Ten officials incorrectly officiated Oregon’s final two-point conversion attempt,” wrote Thamel in his social media post on Sunday afternoon.
After Brock Thomas connected with Evan Stewart on a 44-yard touchdown pass that brought Oregon within 2 points, the Ducks of course went for a 2-point conversion to try to tie the game. But after UCLA was penalized for a facemask on Oregon’s initial 2-point conversion attempt, which gave the Ducks another try from a half yard away, the Bruins’ defense tackled Oregon running back Jordon Davison short of the goal line to escape that situation.
UCLA escaped with the victory, but a day later the Big Ten has admitted that the play should have been officiated differently.
According to Thamel’s report, here was the explanation of the mistake from Saturday:
Following the first attempt that resulted in a personal foul penalty for a facemask on the UCLA defense, the ball was spotted for the second attempt half-the-distance to the goal from the original line of scrimmage of the first attempt. Per rule, the ball should have been spotted half-the-distance to the goal from the end of the run of the first attempt.
That mistake by the Big Ten could have major repercussions on the College Football Playoff field come December, with Oregon suffering a second loss and UCLA staying undefeated. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the best odds to make the 12-team field:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
