Big Ten ref explains upholding controversial Jeremiah Smith TD — we aren’t buying it

The Michigan Wolverines were dominated in every facet of The Game on Saturday, falling to Ohio State by a 27-9 final score.

An early play that set Michigan back was the 35-yard touchdown pass from Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin to star wideout Jeremiah Smith on fourth down. The Buckeyes went up 10-6 at that point and never looked back, but it appeared as if the touchdown should have never happened in the first place.

The play was reviewed, as Smith appeared to bobble the ball as he was getting into the end zone. Rules expert Mike Pereira and FOX color commentator Joel Klatt believed the play should have been ruled a fumble that was recovered by Smith in the end zone after going out of bounds, which would have resulted in seven points off the board for the Buckeyes and Michigan having the ball at the 20 yard line.

Following the game, Big Ten official Kole Knueppel spoke with a pool reporter and explained that the officiating crew that reviewed the play did not have the camera angle the TV crew had that was necessary to overturn the call on the field, which was a touchdown.

“We did not have a camera angle to determine when the ball was loose as opposed to when it crossed the goal line,” Knueppel said. “So by rule, if we don’t have an angle to confirm by obvious video evidence that the ball was loose before he crossed the goal line, then the play is going to be upheld.”

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore believes this call played a role in how things played out the rest of the game, he said in his postgame presser.

“The Jeremiah Smith fumble, or catch — they said he had control of it,” Moore said. “Didn’t look like he had control of it, but at the end of the day, it’s not my decision on what the official says. They told me it was inconclusive and that he made the catch and the call was going to be upheld.

“(It had) a good bit (of an impact), right? A big piece. We start out the game with a pick, throwing at Jeremiah Smith and we start out the game with a pick. At that point, I think it’s 6-3, and if that’s a touchback, that gives us a little momentum. It was a big piece, but we got to do the other things. We got to do the other things in the other spots to go win.”

I disagree with Moore — whether rightly called or not, this play had no impact on the outcome of this game. The Wolverines were dominated from the second quarter on, showed hardly any fight, couldn’t get anything going offensively, and gave up way too many third downs defensively to stay competitive in this game. Again, Smith’s touchdown really had no bearing on the outcome of this game.

That said, I find it incredibly hard to believe they did not have the same angle as the TV crew. The officials rely on every video angle that is available at the stadium, which includes the broadcast cameras. They should have had access to every possible angle to make the correct call, which, according to Klatt and Pereira at least, would have been a touchback.

Before the season began, the ACC announced that, in partnership with ESPN, the conference would provide an inside look at the control room when plays were being reviewed. This provides transparency that hasn’t been available in the past when it comes to why officials make the decisions that they do, and it’s imperative that all of us watching at home are given this type of honesty and transparency.

Every conference should implement something like this — something that lets the viewers listen in and understand the official’s rationale for the decisions they make. Had we been able to hear what the Big Ten officials were discussing as they were reviewing it, we would have a better idea of what they were looking at and how they came to the conclusion to uphold Smith’s touchdown.

Again…this touchdown had nothing to do with Michigan losing this game. All I’m asking for is more transparency and accountability by the Big Ten officials.

What do you think of all this? Let me know down in the comments.