‘The Ball Should Have Been Spotted’ — Big Ten Acknowledges Error on Oregon’s Tying Two-Point Try in 17-15 Loss to Unbeaten UCLA

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Oregon’s final two-point try against UCLA came from a yard farther back than the rules allow, the Big Ten acknowledged Sunday.

Quarterback Brock Thomas’ 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Evan Stewart cut UCLA’s lead to 17-15 with 2:16 left Saturday at Autzen Stadium, leaving Oregon a two-point try to tie. A UCLA facemask on the first attempt gave the Ducks a second try, and running back Jordon Davison was stopped short from the 1.5-yard line.

By rule, the ball belonged at the half-yard line. UCLA held on to improve to 5-0, while Oregon, which turned the ball over seven times, fell to 3-2.

Big Ten Explains How Officials Misplaced the Ball on Oregon’s Retry

“Per rule, the ball should have been spotted half-the-distance to the goal from the end of the run of the first attempt,” the Big Ten said in its statement.

Two-point tries start at the 3-yard line. Thomas ran on the first attempt and was stopped at the 1, but UCLA linebacker Sammy Omosigho was flagged for a facemask on the play.

Rather than measure half the distance from the end of Thomas’ run, officials marked it from the original line of scrimmage, putting the ball at the 1.5. Davison went up the middle on the retry and was stopped short of the goal line.

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UCLA coach Bob Chesney said after the game that Oregon’s odds of converting on the ground were high once the ball was at the 1.5, and he credited defensive lineman Sahir West and the defensive line for the stop.

“If the ball had been properly spotted, the Ducks likely would have tied the game at 17,” Orange and Blue News, which covers Fighting Illini football and basketball, wrote.

Oregon had already failed on a two-point run once, after Davison’s 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter gave the Ducks a 6-3 lead.

Dan Lanning Takes Blame for Oregon’s Turnovers and Early Two-Point Try

Oregon coach Dan Lanning said after the game that going for two after Oregon’s first touchdown could have been the difference and that the decision falls on him. He did not raise the late spot, which the Big Ten addressed the next day.

Lanning pointed instead to the giveaways. Oregon lost five fumbles and threw two interceptions, and its offense also went 1-of-12 on third down and ran for 73 yards on 27 carries.

“You gotta protect the ball, right?” Lanning said. “And you can coach it, and you can say it, but if it shows up, you’re not coaching it well enough, you’re not doing a good enough job there.”

UCLA, meanwhile, played the second half without injured quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Backup Ty Dieffenbach threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to running back Wayne Knight early in the fourth quarter for a 17-6 lead, and Knight ran for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Chesney pointed to the turnovers his defense forced. “I think we walked out of here today with seven of them and I think that’s a pretty big deal for what we were able to do.”

“Seven turnovers beat Oregon, not the spot,” one account wrote after the Big Ten’s statement, crediting the conference for owning the mistake but saying it did not change the result.

Oregon got the ball back after a UCLA three-and-out, and its final play, a completion followed by laterals, reached UCLA’s 33-yard line before Bruins defensive back Dante Lovett recovered a fumble. It was Oregon’s seventh turnover.

Big Ten’s Oregon Mistake Follows Errors in Michigan and Nebraska Games

The Oregon spot was not the first officiating mistake the Big Ten has acknowledged this season.

Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 earlier this season on a Hail Mary touchdown after Big Ten replay officials put one second back on the clock. The NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee and the Big Ten later acknowledged that instant replay protocols were not properly followed. The committee said the outcome would have been different had the protocols been followed, but it lacked the authority to overturn the result.

One week before the Oregon game, the Big Ten said officials should have let Nebraska retry a missed extra point late in its 48-23 win over Maryland after the Terrapins were flagged for roughing the snapper. The penalty was enforced on the ensuing kickoff instead.

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“Is that three potential game-deciding mix-ups this year?” one fan wrote.

In its statement, the Big Ten said it has been in contact with the officiating crew from the UCLA-Oregon game and “will continue to emphasize consistent application of the playing rules.”

Pro Football Network’s College Football Playoff Meter gives UCLA a 66.9% chance to make the playoff and Oregon a 40.3% chance. Lanning said after the game that the Ducks no longer control their own destiny.

UCLA, which rose nine spots to No. 12 in Sunday’s AP poll, hosts Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Oregon, which fell out of the Top 25 from No. 13, hosts Nebraska at Autzen Stadium the same day.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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