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Ranking 10 worst officiating calls of 2025 college football season

Nakos updated headshotby: Pete Nakos7 hours agoPeteNakos_
college football worst calls

Coaches have been outspoken about missed penalties and controversial calls through the first nine weeks of the college football season. With conference-based officiating, scrutiny has ramped up this season.

On3 asked college football fans on X to share their opinions and examples on the worst officiating calls of the 2025 season. We received over 400 comments and ranked the 10 worst calls to date this college football season, focusing specifically on decisions that impacted the outcome of games.

10. Washington called for roughing the passer

Midway of the third quarter, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin dropped back to pass on a 2nd-and-12 play. Washington’s Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei ran into Sayin moments after the quarterback threw the ball away, as Sayin stayed upright when taking the hot.

Officials ruled it roughing the passer. A sack would have made it 3rd-and-20 and pushed Ohio State out of field goal range. Instead the Buckeyes were given a first down and later on the drive took a 14-3 lead.

“Oh boy,” CBS play-by-play broadcaster Brad Nessler said on the broadcast.

Washington head coach Jedd Fisch weighed in after the game.

“Um, they called roughing the passer,” he said. And when asked if he’d teach Uiagalelei to do anything different, Fisch said, “No.”

9. Bowling Green trick play illegal formation

On a trick play with 7:19 to play in the fourth quarter, Bowling Green called up a trick play that went for a touchdown and tied the game with Toledo. Sources have told On3 that the Mid-American Conference later admitted to Toledo it should have been an illegal formation as the tight end was covered up.

Sources also told On3 that the game was played with one less official, because a referee was injured pregame. Bowling Green went on to win 28-23.

8. Georgia Tech offsides not called

In the last couple of minutes of regulation, a Georgia Tech defensive player appeared to be across the line of scrimmage at the time of a snap. Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford threw a deep pass that was incomplete. Upon seeing no flag for the offside player, Ashford — along with coaches on Wake’s sideline — was incensed that a penalty wasn’t called.

An ACC spokesperson confirmed to Deacons Illustrated that a Georgia Tech defender should have been penalized for being offside at the snap. That occurred on a third-and-5 barely inside the 2-minute timeout. Georgia Tech used its final timeout after the previous play.

A 5-yard penalty in that spot would’ve given Wake Forest the chance to kneel three times and win, 23-20. Instead, Wake Forest punted back to GT. The Yellow Jackets drove 54 yards and Aidan Birr’s 33-yard field goal tied the game with two seconds left, going on to win 30-29 in overtime.

7. Oregon fumble overturned at Penn state

In the third quarter of the Penn State White Out game, Oregon started to piece together a drive. Quarterback Dante Moore led the Ducks to the Penn State 9-yard line, where Nittany Lions EDGE Chaz Coleman punched the ball out of running back Noah Whittington’s hands. Penn State safety Zakee Wehatley recovered the fumble and returned it to midfield.

Officials ruled it a fumble, but the call was overturned after replay. The decision to overturn impacted the game, as the Ducks went up 10-3 on the next play when Moore threw an 8-yard touchdown pass.

“I didn’t see enough to overturn the call on the field,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.

6. Vanderbilt called for targeting on LaNorris Sellers

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers went down after taking a high hit from Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson on a pass in the final two minutes of the second quarter and went to the locker room. Patterson was ejected from the game for targeting on the play.

Sellers exited the game and was in concussion protocl after the game. He has since returned and did not miss a game. The call for targeting on the play was called into question, however, as Patterson did not lead with his helmet on the play.

5. Kwazi Gilmer called for ghost block in back

Early in the fourth quarter against Maryland earlier this month, UCLA ran a simple run play, handing the ball off to running back Jalen Berger. As he made a cut to the outside, he made a Terrapin defender fall down. UCLA wide reciever Kwazi Gilmer was near the defender and called for a block in the back, resulting in a 10-yard penalty.

On replay, Gilmer clearly did come in contact with a Maryland player on the play.

4. Virginia Tech called for roughing the passer

With Virginia Tech nursing a 27-20 lead with under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele faked a handoff and dropped back to pass. As he looked for an open wide receiver, Virginia Tech defensive linemen Aycen Stevens and Ben Bell tackled Sagapolutele for a sack.

But Virginia Tech was called for roughing the passer on the play while Sagapolutele was still holding onto the ball. The penalty moved the ball to th Virginia Tech 2-yard line and on the next play, Cal scored a touchdown. Virginia Tech went on to win 42-34 in double overtime.

3. Kirby Smart, Georgia reverse timeout

With Georgia holding onto a 13-10 lead at Auburn early in the third quarter and facing a key 3rd-and-9 from the Tigers’ 28-yard line, head coach Kirby Smart was seen sprinting down the sideline to the side judge and motioning for a timeout.

The official grants Georgia a timeout. In the moments after the play, Smart started clapping to the official as it appeared he was arguing he was not motioning for a timeout. After the game in his press conference, the Georgia head coach said he was explaining an Auburn player was clapping his hands to draw a false start.

Whether Smart was clapping or signaling a timeout, officials reversed the intial timeout call as the Bulldogs were able to hold onto a timeout.

2. Oklahoma ‘hideout tactic’ touchdown

The SEC admitted a critical touchdown in Auburn’s 24-17 loss to Oklahoma this season should not have counted. Oklahoma’s first touchdown of the day came when quarterback John Mateer threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. Replay showed that Sategna was jogging off the field before the play, but he instead stay on and lined up close to the sideline. It led to him being wide open on the touchdown pass.

The play resulted in the SEC releasing a statement after the game. According to the SEC, Oklahoma broke a rule prohibiting teams from using the substitution process to confuse an opponent, referring to Sategna’s pre-snap movement as a “hideout tactic.”

“The officiating crew did not properly interpret the action as a hideout tactic,” the statement said. “The second down play should have resulted in a team unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of 15 yards assessed from the previous spot.”

1. Auburn loses fumble on Georgia’s goal line

With a 10-0 lead with 1:32 to play in the first half, Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold tried to run in a touchdown on a quarterback sneak on the goal line. Georgia linebacker CJ Allen punched the ball out as Bulldogs’ safety Kyron Jones recovered the ball at their 2-yard line. The play was ruled a fumble by officials.

After a lengthy review, SEC replay upheld the on-field call, giving Georgia the ball back. The Bulldogs went on to kick a 29-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 10-3. When longtime SEC referee Ken Williamson headed to the locker room at the half, Auburn athletic director and head coach Hugh Freeze confronted the official.

“I have no clue how that doesn’t break the plane, no clue,” Freeze told the ESPN broadcast at the half. “We’re due a break, maybe, one of these damn times.”

ABC rules analyst Matt Austin, a former SEC official, said he thought the play should have been overturned and Arnold given a touchdown.

“From the synced-up view, it looks like he’s got the ball right in front of the No. 11 on his jersey,” Austin said. “If you look at the view from the back, his No. 11 from the back is definitely across the goal line. I think by merging the two (views), that’s a touchdown.”

Honrable Mention: Illegal block in back on punt in Alabama-South Carolina; Catch upheld in NC State-Notre Dame; Roughing the passer in Ole Miss-Oklahoma; Targeting in Western Kentucky-Louisiana Tech.