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Refs Embarrassed Themselves In Peach Bowl Coin Toss

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jan 9, 2026 8:20 PM ET

The Peach Bowl game between Indiana and Oregon got off to a wild start as the Hoosiers scored a pick-six off Ducks QB Dante Moore on the first play from scrimmage. But the craziness of the game started before the coin was even flipped.

Referee Daniel Gautreaux and his team made the Peach Bowl coin toss one of the most awkward moments of the entire year. It started with him giving his big speech of instructions to both teams without realizing that his microphone was off. As a result, he had to turn it on and start the entire thing over as fans shouted at him.

Once his microphone was on, Gautreaux made it even more awkward by doing what basically amounted to ad reads for the Peach Bowl organizers and their Chick-fil-A title sponsors.

The coin toss itself was a full 15 minutes later than the scheduled start time. So by the time Gautreaux actually got around to flipping the coin, fans were jeering angrily at the officiating crew.

Referees on field.Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

The response was pretty nasty from fans online as well. Just about everyone criticized the referees and took it as a sign that a crazy game is ahead:

"Coin toss microphone issues? This game is gonna rock," one user mocked.

"So the referee is also the MC tonight introducing all the sponsors at the cointoss?" another wondered.

"We don't need the mic'd up intro's of everybody present at the coin toss," a third wrote.

"A college football game that kicks off at 7:30 doing their coin toss at 7:45, a tradition like no other."

Sponsors at the Coin Toss?

As many fans pointed out, it was equally weird to see all of the sponsors and organizers at the coin toss too. Unless there's some contractual obligation to let them onto midfield, there really isn't much of a need for them to be there.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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