ESPN announcers got fooled by weird rule in Clemson-Syracuse game

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ESPN announcers got fooled by weird rule in Clemson-Syracuse game

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Nov 7, 2026 3:11 PM ET

A rule wrinkle threw ESPN’s broadcasters for a loop at the end of the first half of Saturday’s game between Syracuse and Clemson.

Syracuse trailed Clemson 9-6 just before halftime of Saturday’s game at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. and were on the edge of field goal range. Instead of spiking the ball, however, Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli tried to catch Clemson napping with a pass.

On the surface, everything about this looks wrong, and ESPN broadcasters Lowell Galindo and Kirk Morrison said as much. Galindo openly wondered if Angeli was unaware of the clock situation, while Morrison was “not sure what he was doing” on that play.

There is just one problem: there were two seconds left when the ball was spotted, and by NCAA rules, three seconds are required for a spike. Angeli knew the rule, but ESPN’s announcers did not.

ESPN2’s Lowell Galindo and Kirk Morrison incorrectly chastised Syracuse for not spiking with 2 seconds left in the half. https://t.co/QUzCrAnAwv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 7, 2026

The rule change was instituted in 2013, though it does not come up very often. Had Angeli spiked the ball, the last two seconds would have automatically run off the clock, and it would have been halftime anyway.

Give Angeli plenty of credit. He’s a composed veteran quarterback who knew the rule. ESPN’s broadcasters, awkwardly enough, could not say the same.

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