Michigan football’s 27-24 win last Saturday against Minnesota did more than just improve the Wolverines’ record to 4-1 and bump them up two spots in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
It helped rewrite its conference’s rulebook.
The Big Ten is modifying how onside kicks are officiated following a controversial offsides call against Minnesota that ended the Golden Gophers’ furious attempt at a come-from-behind victory against Michigan last weekend at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
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The amended rule will require that two officials — the line judge and the head line judge — be placed on the kicking team’s restraining line, which is typically at the 35-yard line. With the change, which was approved by the NCAA, the Big Ten noted in a statement that its referees will now be “in the best position to consistently make the correct judgment.” The call last Saturday was made by the umpire.
After trailing by 21 points at the start of the fourth quarter, Minnesota was down by just three when it appeared to recover an onside kick with 1:37 remaining, which would have given it the ball with a chance to march up the field and win or tie the game. Officials ruled, however, that Matt Kingsbury, who recovered the kick near the Michigan 40, was offside. The Wolverines secured the ball on the rekick and ran out the remaining clock to hold on for the win.
The Big Ten did not acknowledge in the statement that the call was incorrect, though it did note that offside penalties are not subject to video review.
“We submitted the play to the Big Ten Coordinator of Officials for review,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said in a statement. “The Coordinator informed us the play was too tight to flag. We credit the Big Ten Conference for recognizing the need to make this change to ensure accurate calls in the future.”
The call generated condemnation and even outrage from those in the broader college football world. Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira disagreed with the flag, though he conceded that it was “awfully close.”
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Former Washington and Boise State coach Chris Petersen, who’s now a Fox college football analyst, had harsher words for what he saw as an officiating mistake.
“I’m sick to my stomach right now, I really am,” Petersen said on Fox’s postgame show. “I just hate to see this when the officials are making something up. Like I don’t know why they would throw that flag. To me, these are always close calls, that ball’s kicked. That’s not egre- … what are we doing, let the kids play.
“We would always say, one play is never gonna lose you the game, one play can win you the game, but when it comes down to an official’s call? You know how hard it is to execute an onsides kick? … And then they got it, they did it perfectly, and then it’s taken away? I don’t like that at all, that is so frustrating, that’s why I’m not coaching right now.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Big Ten changes onside kick rules after controversial call
