Ohio State got burned by a big pass interference call in the fourth quarter of their rivalry game against Michigan on Saturday.
Long before the Wolverines broke the game open with two long Donovan Edwards touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes were playing the Wolverines closely.
Michigan was leading 24-20 and had a 3rd-and-10 at the Ohio State 14. The Buckeyes defense was doing a good job of keeping the Wolverines out of the end zone, and they appeared to get another stop as J.J. McCarthy was pressured and threw the ball out of the end zone.
The problem is the officials called pass interference.
That gave Michigan a first and goal at the Ohio State 2. Ohio State’s defense was playing so well at the time that it took Michigan until third-and-goal to finally score and make it 31-20.
That pass interference call was a game-changer. Without it, the Wolverines probably would have kicked a field goal to make it 27-20. But because of the call, they got a fresh set of downs from the 2 and scored to make it a two possession game.
That was a bad call too as far as I’m concerned. There was barely any interference. On top of that, McCarthy was just trying to heave the ball to avoid a sack. It really wasn’t even a catchable ball.
But the call went Michigan’s way and was a big turning point. As the quarter went on, Michigan just ran away with things. They broke two huge runs when they were trying to run the clock, and they also sealed things with two interceptions.
The way Michigan pulled away was nothing short of stunning. Everything started going the Wolverines’ way from that call on.
More must-reads: