The Big Ten admitted Monday that technical difficulties and what it called “a breakdown in officiating mechanics” hampered Penn State in its emotional overtime loss to No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday night.
In a statement released on the conference’s website, league officials acknowledged replay official Tom Fiedler did not receive all available feeds on the replay of what was determined on the field to be Ohio State safety Vonn Bell’s first quarter interception of a pass by Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
Television replays, which were shown on ABC’s national broadcast of the game, showed several angles of the play, which appeared to provide convincing evidence Bell never had possession of the alleged leaping catch before it hit the ground. Several angles also shown by Beaver Stadium’s in-house video feed on its high definition replay boards provided evidence just as conclusive. However, the play was upheld as an interception, and referee John O’Neill told a pool reporter after the game that replays somehow weren’t getting transmitted to the replay booth.
Ohio State would go on to score a touchdown on sophomore Ezekiel Elliott’s 10-yard run to take a 7-0 lead after the call.
The video feed was tested both Friday and in the hours prior to the game on Saturday, with no problems reported, the league acknowledged. But that evidently changed by the start of the game.
“The technician in the booth followed procedure by contacting the production truck, which immediately began working on the issue,” the conference’s statement said. “Due to these technical difficulties, only one isolated shot from the overhead camera was available and the view did not provide sufficient information to reverse the call. As a result, the play stood as called. The production truck rectified the technical issues shortly thereafter, and the replay booth had access to multiple feeds for the remainder of the game.”
Another call — or, more accurately, lack of a call — that raised Penn State’s ire came in the second quarter, when time expired on the play clock before kicker Sean Nuernberger’s 49-yard field goal that put the Buckeyes ahead, 10-0. The conference admitted the officials were at fault for that, saying O’Neill’s crew “failed to properly monitor the play clock” due to a “breakdown in officiating mechanics.”
“There is flexibility for a slight delay between the play clock and the snap of the ball,” the statement said, “but in this case, the timing far exceeded the tolerance for normal play clock procedures. The proper ruling should have been a five-yard penalty for delay of game.”
That would have forced Ohio State to make a decision: Let Nuernberger attempt a 54-yard field goal, which would have been his career long by a significant margin, attempt a conversion on fourth-and-30 or punt.
Those instances both led to Ohio State points in a game the Nittany Lions rallied in the second half to send to overtime.
The conference did not address any other controversial missed calls — namely a false start that could have been called on Buckeyes left tackle Taylor Decker on quarterback J.T. Barrett’s 10-yard first down run that kept the opening drive alive. It also did not indicate in the statement whether O’Neill’s crew would be reprimanded for the breakdown on the missed delay of game call.
The conference indicated on its website that its statement was posted in response to media questions. Asked after the game whether he planned to submit any of the calls made by officials Saturday to the Big Ten for review, a frustrated coach James Franklin refused to say.
”I know you guys would love for me to give you a sound bite that not only would sell papers but would get me a big fine,” he said. “But I’m not going to do it.”
Zwinak, Keiser done
Franklin announced Monday night that two of his most relied-upon seniors will miss the rest of the season with injuries, costing the Lions two more scholarship players and limiting their experience as they head into the home stretch.
Running back Zach Zwinak and safety Ryan Keiser both saw their college careers end — Zwinak by the lower left leg injury suffered on the opening kickoff against Ohio State and Keiser by what Franklin has called a “freak injury” suffered during last Thursday’s practice.
Zwinak led the Lions in rushing the last two seasons and finishes his career 15th on Penn State’s all-time rushing list with 2,108 yards. A walk-on who earned a scholarship, Keiser entered the Ohio State game behind only linebackers Mike Hull and Nyeem Wartman in tackles this season.
Without Zwinak, Penn State will use Bill Belton and sophomore Akeel Lynch as a running back platoon, while true freshman Marcus Allen will take over at free safety for Keiser. The Nittany Lions will enter Saturday’s game against Maryland at Beaver Stadium with just 46 recruited scholarship players available to play. Seventeen more are true freshmen who are likely to redshirt. Just six recruited seniors remain active on the roster.
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