The Pac-12 referees missed a blatant call on Oregon’s first score of their game against Arizona State.
The Pac-12’s Saturday schedule is being headlined by Washington and Utah clashing in Salt Lake City, UT. While a game like Oregon vs. Arizona State won’t receive any headlines, there was some controversy early on that will draw a few looks.
One problem that has plagued football players is dropping the ball before they cross the goal line. Despite being inches away from scoring, players usually jump the gun on their end zone celebration, and end up costing their team for not realizing where they are on the field. The result can either be a touchback for the opposition, or if a defender is close by, they can pick up the ball and run the other way.
Usually, the referees will catch this happening. However, during Oregon vs. Arizona State, they blatantly missed it. This came after Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Pharaoh Brown, who dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. Luckily for him, the officials did not see this and the play stood.
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Brown must have been a good yard or two away from the goal line. Unless the referees were not in good position, it’s difficult to see how they would miss this.
Football players continue to make the costly mistake of dropping the ball before crossing the goal line. It has changed the landscape of a game before, and could have here if the Pac-12 officials caught this happening. It would not be surprising if the Oregon coaching staff spoke to Brown to tell him how lucky he was to be awarded a touchdown there.
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Pretty soon, someone else will likely commit this error, maybe even before Saturday night ends. So, please, football players, just hold onto the ball.