Big Ten admits ref blew call on Oregon's failed two-point conversion in 17-15 loss to UCLA

In Saturday’s 17-15 loss to UCLA, Oregon was stopped short on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 2:16 left. And now the Big Ten has admitted the officials botched a call that would have given Oregon a better chance of converting.

Oregon quarterback Brock Thomas initially tried to run the ball in, but a UCLA player blatantly grabbed his facemask before Thomas was stopped inside the 1-yard line. The facemasking was called, but the officials gave Oregon half the distance to the goal line from the 3-yard line, and spotted the ball at the 1.5-yard line for Oregon’s subsequent two-point conversion attempt, which was stopped just short of the goal line.

That’s not where the ball should have been spotted. The ruling should have been half the distance to the goal line from where Thomas was tackled, which was just inside the 1-yard line. So the ball should have been spotted less than half a yard from the goal line for Oregon’s subsequent two-point conversion attempt. If it had been, and Oregon had run the same play, that same second two-point conversion attempt would have reached the end zone, and Oregon would have tied the game.

“With 2:16 remaining in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s UCLA-Oregon game, Big Ten officials incorrectly officiated Oregon’s final two-point conversion attempt,” the Big Ten said in a statement. “Following the first attempt that resulted in a personal foul penalty for a facemask on the UCLA defense, the ball was spotted for the second attempt half-the-distance to the goal from the original line of scrimmage of the first attempt. 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 has been in contact with its officiating team from Saturday’s game regarding the error and will continue to emphasize consistent application of the playing rules.”

Compounding the mistake was that the referee correctly announced that the ball would be spotted half the distance to the goal line from the end of the run, but when it came time to actually spot the ball, the officials incorrectly spotted it half the distance to the goal line from the previous spot.

Missed calls will always happen; the officials can’t always see every single thing that happens on every single play. But misapplying the rules is inexcusable, and it cost Oregon dearly on Saturday.