Joel Klatt makes strong statement on officiating in Michigan vs TCU
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt is not holding back on the officiating after a couple of controversial calls impacted Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal between Michigan and TCU.
Unfortunately for Wolverines fans, both of the calls went against their team as the Horned Frogs prevailed 51-45. That included a late targeting no-call with 25 seconds left in the game that resulted in a turnover on downs for Michigan, ending any hope they had of victory.
That call, plus a controversial touchdown reversal in the first half, led Klatt to take to Twitter and make a bold statement on the state of officiating in the sport.
“Replay in CFB is broken & Targeting foul is equally broken!” Klatt wrote. “Clearly a TD in first half. 100% targeting (and I hate targeting) at end. Officiating in CFB needs an overhaul…No reason for every conference to have their own officials…Should have a national officiating base.”
Saturday’s officiating crew was from the SEC and included a number of referees who called last year’s national title game. The referee is Jason Autrey, who was part of the crew for the 2021-22 title game in January and also found himself at the center of one of the more contrived controversies of the 2022 season. The other officials who called that game also on the Fiesta Bowl crew is side judge Sean Petty, back judge Martin Hankins and center judge Chris Garner.
Regardless of the pair of controversial calls, Saturday’s semifinal game was full of excitement until the very end. It wound up being the second-highest scoring game in College Football Playoff history, keeping fans entertained to the wire.
With the win, TCU advanced to the national championship game, where it will face the winner of this evening’s Peach Bowl between Georgia and Ohio State.
Controversial targeting decision by officials affects Michigan vs TCU ending
For a few moments, TCU thought they had a spot in the College Football national championship game. Michigan was attempting to drive down the field to win themselves and everything fell to a fourth down play.
In a chaotic sequence, the ball somehow ended up in the hands of Colston Loveland via running back Donovan Edwards. As he went to the ground, everyone on the Horned Frogs’ sideline jumped for joy to celebrate the victory. Quarterback Max Duggan even trotted out onto the field to take a knee.
However, there was a review called down to the field from the booth, looking at a potential targeting call. Defensive back Kee’yon Stewart came in to wrap up the game but with the way his head went into the tackle, there was enough to warrant a review.
After a brief view, the officials decided there was no foul on the play, especially after not calling the flag originally. All TCU had to do was take a snap and they would be heading out to Los Angeles to face off against the winner of Georgia and Ohio State.
You can watch the full play here.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.