EAST LANSING, Mich. — If you pay pretty close attention to football and try to keep up with the nauseating rule changes year to year, you probably noticed something was off on the final field goal attempt by Michigan State against ASU Saturday.
Now, the Pac-12 is saying their officiating crew made a blunder on the final play.
With seconds remaining on the clock, the Spartans had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime with a 42-yard field goal. Michigan State kicker Matt Coghlin nailed it.
Then the whistles blew.
Michigan State had 12 men on the field. So, they were backed up five yards for what was now a 47-yard field goal attempt.
As the ball was snapped, ASU freshman safety Cam Phillips leaps over the offensive line. Coghlin hooks the kick and it ends up nowhere near the goalpost.
You can watch the whole sequence here:
“No defensive player, in an attempt to gain an advantage, may step, jump or stand on an opponent,” the rulebook says.
The "leaping rule" was amended in 2017 to say that even if a player doesn't make contact with an offensive lineman, it's still a penalty. Ergo, what Phillips does here is obviously a penalty no matter how you slice it.
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio voiced his displeasure with the officiating after the game.
The Pac-12 came out Sunday saying the conference is acknowledging an "error in officiating" during the end of the game. You can read the full statement below.
The penalty would've but Michigan State around the 14-yard-line setting up a much shorter kick to tie.
The result is the result and likely neither team is going to waste their time thinking about it, but the acknowledgment of the mistake isn't doing any favors for Michigan State fans.
It's worth noting, Coghlin had missed his two other field goal attempts in the game from 31 and 47 yards.