Texas was gifted an egregiously weak roughing the passer call

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer

(Sports Illustrated)

It won’t be long before defenders won’t be allowed to touch quarterbacks.

How else can you explain this roughing the passer call in the Texas Bowl? Missouri’s DeMarkus Acy jumped to defend a Sam Ehlinger pass as Ehlinger threw the ball. His momentum carried him into Ehlinger, but it’s clear Acy was not trying to hit Ehlinger.

Alas, he got called for a personal foul by the game’s Pac-12 officiating crew. Take a look.

The foul was especially costly for Missouri as the penalty helped lead to a Texas field goal on the drive to extend a 23-16 fourth quarter lead to a 26-16 one. Protecting the quarterback is understandable. But officials have to start using some common sense.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!