Mountain West suspends officiating crew after it skipped a down late in Air Force win over Wyoming
The Mountain West said Sunday that it had suspended an officiating crew following a blunder late in Air Force’s 20-6 win over Wyoming.
The Falcons had scored a touchdown to go up 14 points with 2:04 left when Donald Hammond III threw a 75-yard pass to Benjamin Waters. A Wyoming comeback wasn’t exactly probable after that TD pass. But the chance of any comeback — no matter how improbable it is — gets lessened when the officials skip a down.
Wyoming got a first down on the first play of the ensuing possession. On the second play, QB Tyler Vander Waal was sacked for an 11-yard loss. That’s when things got weird and the officials apparently forgot that Wyoming got a first down on its first play. Or just flat screwed up.
Instead of facing second-and-21, officials gave Wyoming a third down and didn’t correct it. So instead of having three chances to get 21 yards for the first down, Wyoming had just two. And it couldn’t convert either one before turning the ball back over to Air Force on downs.
In a statement, the Mountain West admitted the officials screwed up and they have been suspended from “their next assignment.” That wording makes sense given that Saturday was the final weekend of the regular season.
The win pushed Air Force’s record to 10-2 and the school’s first 10-win season in three years while Wyoming fell to 7-5.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports
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