Controversy rages over missed call in Ohio State vs. Oregon

The no-call on possible targeting late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Ohio State vs. Oregon game continues to be the talk of college football. Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell looked to use the crown of his helmet when he tackled Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave.

While Sewell and Olave both went down momentarily after the hit, no flag was thrown and the booth chose not to review the play for targeting.

Former NFL referee and current Sunday Night Football analyst Terry McAulay called out the play as targeting on Twitter.

“Takes aim for the purpose of attacking,” he wrote. “Leads with the crown. Makes forcible contact with the crown. This is targeting. I used the word ‘inexcusable’ last week. It applies here to the failure of replay to create the foul.”

If targeting had been call, Ohio State would have earned the much needed first down. Instead, the Buckeyes were forced to punt on 4th-and-18. No. 12 Oregon escaped Columbus with a 35-28 win, pulling off the upset against the No. 3 Buckeyes.

The Oregon defense came up with the play of the game against Ohio State later in the fourth quarter, picking off Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Ducks played without two key members of the defense but still did enough to limit the high-powered Ohio State offense.

Stroud dropped back on third-and-18 and scrambled outside the pocket. The first-year starter moved to his right and looked to hit a wide receiver on the sideline. He floated the ball too high, and it was intercepted by Verone McKinley III.

Ohio State is left 1-1 and handed its first regular-season loss of the Ryan Day era. The loss also marks the first time the Buckeyes have fell at Ohio Stadium since 2017, when Oklahoma came into the Horseshoe and won.

On the flip side, Oregon improves to 2-0 and has made a statement for its College Football Playoff resume.