North Dakota State kicker Nathan Whiting warms up his leg during a huddle. Erin Bormett / Argus Leader via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Significant clock error goes unnoticed in NDSU's playoff win over JMU

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Dan Benton | Last updated 12/18/21

The North Dakota State Bison defeated the James Madison Dukes, 20-14, in the FCS championship semifinals on Friday night.

The game ended on an incomplete Cole Johnson hail mary attempt from the NDSU 45-yard line. And while that sounds somewhat uneventful, it was anything but.

With 2:58 remaining in the game, NDSU faced a second-and-8 from their own 22-yard line. They ran the ball up the middle for a modest two-yard gain, ushering in a key third down. Interestingly however, the play clock did not immediately start. Rather, it took 28 seconds before it began ticking while the game clock ran the entire time.

There was no timeout called, no commercial break and nothing else of note. Just 28 seconds somehow vanishing off the clock with NDSU, JMU and the game officials none the wiser.

what was this garbage with the clock?

play clock reset to 40 at 2:55 on game clock

but play clock doesn’t start ticking until 2:27 on the game clock

cost JMU 28 seconds in a one-score game for a FCS Championship shot that ended with JMU on the NDSU 45-yard line as time expired pic.twitter.com/KICyi1nb4s

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 18, 2021

How does something like that happen? How did no one notice? Those questions are legitimate, especially given how the game ended.

Even the announcers, who appeared to be the only people to catch on, seemed to downplay the issue.

“The play clock and the game clock are finally… Now all the sudden it’s synced up and will go inside of two minutes,” they said on the live broadcast.

After the game, neither of the head coaches and none of the players mentioned it. Reporters didn’t ask about it and the referees weren’t pressed on it. It’s as if it never happened.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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