Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN announcers made mistake on call of Penn State's 'Wing T' formation

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 1/2/23

ESPN’s announcers made a mistake while calling Penn State’s touchdown to open the scoring in the Rose Bowl against Utah on Monday.

Penn State had a 3rd-and-2 from the Utah 5 with a rolling clock in the final minute of the first quarter against the Utes. The Nittany Lions lined up in a T formation that caught Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit by surprise.

“How about this, look at this formation,” Herbstreit said.

“The Wing T? What era are we in?” Fowler sarcastically asked.

“I mean, only in this stadium can you line up in a Wing T,” Herbstreit said in response.

“One of the few teams in the sport that uses this formation,” added Fowler.

PENN STATE PUNCHES IT IN FOR THE FIRST TD IN PASADENA pic.twitter.com/y4o0IFCqAt

— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2023

The problem is that the announcers got the formation wrong. Penn State had lined up in a standard T formation, not a Wing T, as there was no wing back.

Here is what a Wing T looks like:

Full House (T-formation). Not a Wing T. pic.twitter.com/cZuVhDewU1

— Maroon Baboon (@maroon_baboon) January 2, 2023

Fans were on it and recognized the mistake.

That was not a wing T. It was a full-house T. To be a wing T, you need a wing. #RoseBowl

— Ron Flatter (@ronflatter) January 2, 2023

Not to be “That Guy”, but contrary to Herbie and Fowler’s call, but this is a “T” formation, not “Wing T”…and they just corrected themselves coming out of commercial. I wonder who texted Herbie? pic.twitter.com/xd7q4RPmOz

— Thom Abraham (@thomabrahamshow) January 2, 2023

After ESPN returned from a commercial, Fowler and Herbstreit corrected their error and noted Penn State had lined up in a T formation.

Fowler and Herbstreit should have gotten that right, especially since Herbstreit played in the late ’80s/early ’90s when teams still used a T formation. But them not being able to identify what used to be a common formation shows just how much the game has shifted to a passing sport rather than the running sport it used to be 30-plus years ago.

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

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