Ohio State interception appears to hit ground, call upheld (GIF)
A head-scratching call put an end to Penn State’s first drive against Ohio State Saturday night.
After the Nittany Lions picked up two first downs and advanced to their own 36-yard line, sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg felt pressure and appeared to be intercepted by Vonn Bell on a first down throw.
Bell jumped up immediately as if he caught the pass. However, replays from multiple angles appeared to show the football hitting the ground, meaning it should have been ruled incomplete.
The play was subject to further replay review, but the call on the field was curiously upheld.
ABC announcers said that the proper replay feed was not transmitted to the booth, which could have been the reason for the interception being upheld.
Following the turnover, the Buckeyes’ offense marched down the field and scored on a 10-yard Ezekiel Elliott touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead.
Things did not get much better for the officials later on in the half. Early in the second quarter, Ohio State kicker Sean Nuernberger was lined up for a 49-yard attempt when the play clock hit zero.
Instead of a delay of game penalty being called, the Buckeyes got the snap off nearly three seconds later and Nuernberger hit the field goal to give OSU a 10-0 lead.
Those 10 points ended up being costly, as Ohio State ended up winning 31-24 in double overtime.
That's not a good look for this officiating crew.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
For more Penn State news, visit BlueWhiteIllustrated.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
