Lamenting a Slew of Bad Calls, USC Fans Cry Foul

© Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Games are supposed to be decided by players and performance, not officiating.

On Sept. 21, at Ann Arbor, Mich., in a highly anticipated Big Ten Conference opener, the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines (3-1, 1-0) hosted the No. 11 USC Trojans (2-1, 0-1). In a game marred by numerous potentially game-altering errors by the referees, the Wolverines secured a heart-pounding 27-24 victory, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Kalel Mullings with 37 seconds remaining in the contest.

While the Wolverines won the battle in the trenches, the Trojans outgained the Wolverines 397-322 in total yardage, racked up 17 first downs to only 12 for Michigan and amassed nearly 10 times more passing yards than the Maize and Blue (283-32). Speedy Trojans sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch more than tripled the output of the entire Wolverines receiving corps with 98 yards on 6 receptions. On the other hand, Mullings' 170 rushing yards nearly doubled the 96 yards that the Trojans gained on the ground.

Regrettably, one of the prominent storylines of this exciting matchup between two of college football's blue bloods was that the game was tarnished by poor officiating. Dealing with significant blunders by the referees in their initial B1G conference games is a particularly bitter pill for Trojans supporters to swallow, as lack of accountability for poor refereeing in the Pac-12 Conference was one of the chief reasons cited by USC for bolting from the conference.

Missed Calls

During the CBS broadcast, the announcers highlighted multiple missed calls by the officiating crew.

As reported by Athlon Sports, "just one drive into the game, the refs ... missed a clear delay of game call on fourth down that could have had major consequences for the Trojans." 

The expiration of the play clock before the Wolverines snapped the ball seemed to be obvious, as depicted above. And many college football fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their displeasure. It's not hard to imagine the lack of a penalty might have altered the outcome of the game. Especially on a crucial fourth-and-inches.

In the words of Sports Illustrated, "While at the end of the day, the Trojans still lost the game, in a close matchup, the officiating could have changed the outcome. ... The reason for the dismay is that the officiating came off as one-sided. The USC Trojans did commit penalties too, but there were many times that a missed call would have favored the Trojans. The instances began early in the game and continued throughout."

On another fourth down early in the game, Michigan went for it inside its own territory. Although it appeared the Wolverines did not reach the line to gain, the officials granted Michigan a first down. Instead of USC receiving the ball after stopping Michigan, the Wolverines broke off a lengthy touchdown run on the next play.

The officiating follies persisted. The referees missed three of what most would consider face mask penalties by Michigan defenders against USC quarterback Miller Moss.

For these penalties, the Trojans should have received 15-yard walk-offs. But the officials kept the yellow flags in their pockets.

More troubling than the foregoing blunders by the referees were two instances in which dangerous fouls committed by the Wolverines were ignored, one of which resulted in the hospitalization of USC WR Makai Lemon. He was injured on a flagrant uncalled blindside block. Additionally, Trojans WR Ja'Kobi Lane appeared to be injured after an illegal horse collar tackle.

Sports Illustrated summed it up: "Whether it was issues spotting the ball or missing calls, this was not the best game for the Big Ten officiating crew overall in its first conference game of the season. There were just three penalties called against Michigan compared to six against USC." The New York Times put it a little more subtly, noting "the Trojans suffered some bad breaks officiating-wise."

Penalty Balance

Michigan supporters have responded to the criticism of the officiating by noting that the refs also missed an evident offsides penalty against USC in the first quarter. While that might indeed have been a penalty against the Trojans, the lone officiating transgression against the Wolverines does not compare.

Next up for the Wolverines is another home game—their fifth straight—against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-2, 0-1). USC hosts Wisconsin (2-1, 0-0) at 3:30 p.m. EST on Sept. 28 at the United Airlines Field Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.