The referees made a significant, game-changing error at the end of Saturday’s matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
During Nebraska’s final offensive drive of the game, the Cornhuskers aiming for a potential go-ahead touchdown when receiver Jahmal Banks was hit hard by Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, leading to a fumble that Ohio State recovered.
After a review, however, Reese was flagged for targeting for making contact with the receiver’s head or neck area. As a result, he was ejected from the game, and Nebraska retained possession along with a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.
This pivotal call not only altered the game’s outcome but also led to a suspension for Reese in the first half of the upcoming game against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
However, according to Andy Backstrom of On3, both the NCAA and Big Ten have concluded that the referees erred and the targeting penalty should never have been issued.
“According to an Ohio State spokesperson, the No. 4 Buckeyes filed an appeal to the Big Ten after Reese was called for targeting against Nebraska this past weekend and subsequently disqualified from the game with close to three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a narrow win,” Backstrom wrote for On3.
“The Big Ten went to the NCAA Football Secretary Rules Editor, and, after review, Reese’s tackle and forced fumble on Nebraska wide receiver Jahmal Banks weren’t deemed as targeting, per Ohio State spokesperson.”
As a result of the appeal, Reese will no longer be suspended for the first half of Saturday’s game.
Needless to say, this mistake led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“A perfect example of why refs should look for a reason NOT to call targeting unless it’s very blatant and obvious. It’s like they don’t take it seriously how much ejecting a player impacts a game,” one fan wrote.
“So this means that if there was no targeting, there was a catch, and then there was a fumble clearly recovered by Ohio State. How would they have handled this if Ohio State had lost the game with a Nebraska touchdown on that drive?” another fan asked.
“Admitting the mistake is nice and all but if it had cost them the game, it would do no good,” another fan added.
“This bad call could have cost the Bucks the game, 2 weeks after another bad call did cost them! Refs need to be held accountable,” another fan wrote.
“So what if this call cost us the game?” another fan added.
Obviously, it’s too late to correct the impact that the blown call made on the game, but Reese the suspension has been overturned.
[On3]
