Another controversial spot went Ohio State's way vs. Michigan
You will never believe it but there was a controversial spotting of the ball in the Michigan vs. Ohio State game.
You won’t believe this either: It did not go Michigan’s way.
With the score tied 14-14 and under a minute to go until halftime, Michigan faced a third-and-6 from its own 37-yard line. With nobody open, quarterback John O’Korn took off and appeared, by extending the ball forward as he went out of bounds, to pick up the first down.
But he was ruled short.
The FOX broadcast showed a few replays, and it really looked like it was a lot closer than the initial spot. O’Korn seemed to stretch the ball with his right arm near the 43-yard line, which would have been just enough for the first down.
However, after a replay review, the call on the field stood with the official saying O’Korn was short of the line to gain. It isn’t totally clear where the ball was when O’Korn’s left foot landed out of bounds, but other than that there doesn’t seem to be an angle showing the initial spot to be correct. Maybe the replay officials had another look the television viewers did not.
Of course, that brings us back to last year’s OSU-UM game where there was another controversial spot. That one was a lot more impactful.
In double-overtime, Ohio State kept its offense out on the field for fourth-and-1 from the UM 16 instead of trying to tie the game with a field goal to force 3OT. OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett just barely picked up the first down. It was ruled a first down on the field and the call was upheld after a replay review. Jim Harbaugh went ballistic about the spot, which was subjected to Zapruder film-level scrutiny from Michigan fans, especially after Ohio State won on a touchdown run on the very next play.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
