Big Ten officiating head talks controversial Penn State-Indiana finish
Indianapolis -- It's not out of line to say that one call changed two seasons in 2020.
When Indiana quarterback Micahel Penix Jr., dove for the pylon as Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker tried to push him out of bounds on a two-point conversion try in overtime during both team's season opener, it initially looked like he certainly crossed the goal line to upset the Nittany Lions.
But, replay later cast doubt on that fact, especially to those wearing blue and white.
Did the ball hit the out-of-bounds line before breaking the plane? Was the Hoosiers' signal-caller down before the goal line? The questions were screamed from atop Mt. Nittany, but ultimately, game referee Rod Snodgrass and the replay official decided that the call on the field would stand.
Final score: Indiana 36, Penn State 35.
Did they make the right call?
Penn State fans will undoubtedly say no, while those in crimson and cream say there is no doubt about it.
So, at Big Ten Media Days here at Lucas Oil Stadium, we took fandom out of play and went right to the man in charge of the conference's officiating efforts, Bill Carollo.
The former NFL referee became the Big Ten's coordinator of football officiating back in 2009, and he's admitted on occasion when the men and women who wear black and white stripes have made a mistake.
On this particular play, however, he thinks they got the aftermath right based on what they did on the field.
Here is Carollo's full answer:
"So, you go back to the one play, Penn State-Indiana, when they think, well, that's a tough play. You couldn't [overturn] it. That was the right answer. If you look at that play again, the mechanics by the official sitting at the goal line, [the official] was in a perfect position, then looked at it, made the call, he's trying to look at, you know, did he step out of bounds, did the ball touch out of bounds, and if the ball did touch out of bounds, the heel of the ball, did the front of the ball break the plane? And you couldn't prove it.
"I really liked what they did," Carollo continued. "They went through the process pretty quick. They are very thorough as far as going through the replay process. Do you have the evidence? Does it have all the elements? Can you prove it? When you get to the point when you don't know, did the tip of the ball break the plane, then you know what the answer is: What did they call on the field? That play's going to stand.
"In that case, that was a very tough call, you could go 50/50, you couldn't prove it either way, so if they said touchdown, or short out of bounds, it would have, it should have, and it did stand."
That one, decisive play helped fuel both seasons, and whether Nittany Lions fans like it or not, that's why it was officiated the way it was.
Penn State went on to start 0-5 but ultimately finished 4-5, while Indiana enjoyed one of its best seasons in program history, as head coach Tom Allen led it to a top-15 finish.
The Lions and Hoosiers meet again on Oct. 2 at Beaver Stadium.
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