FOX’s announcers for Saturday’s huge Michigan-Ohio State game did a poor job keeping viewers informed amid some confusing situations before halftime.
Michigan and Ohio State traded punts a few times before halftime. The Wolverines got the ball back with just over a minute left in the second quarter and had a 3rd-and-2 at their 41. J.J. McCarthy scrambled for a first down and got his team near field goal range with around 9 seconds left. Next thing you knew, 17 seconds were left on the clock, and Michigan was back at their 41 for 3rd-and-2.
The Wolverines were then pushed back five yards for a false start to make it 3rd-and-7, and they were called again for a false start to make it 3rd-and-12.
The problem is that FOX’s announcers spent all this time talking about McCarthy’s run and whether Michigan would call timeout to stop the clock. They really left viewers in the dark about why Michigan went from having the ball near field goal range to being back at their 41.
Analyst Joel Klatt mentioned in one sentence that Ohio State had called timeout before McCarthy’s run. That was it. Klatt and Gus Johnson spent all this time talking about the run and a late hit and just glossed over that the play didn’t count — and the reason why.
As a viewer, I had to rewind a few times to finally figure out what was going on.
Michigan went from being close to field goal range to being moved back to their 31 in a span of minutes, and FOX’s announcers did a poor job explaining to viewers what was happening.
The announcers did a good job getting viewers excited when big plays occurred in the game, but they were really lost when their guidance was needed most.
Many viewers noticed the same issue:
Klatt also harped on how much time Michigan was wasting by huddling up and not using a hurry-up offense before the half. Not once did he consider whether that was by intention so that they wouldn’t leave any time left for the Buckeyes.
It was a poor job by the announcers and the telecast during some big moments in a massive game.
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