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Penn State overturned fumble recovery against Oregon makes On3's list of worst officiating calls of the 2025 season so far

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel6 hours agoGregPickel
NCAA Football: Oregon at Penn State
Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington (6) fumbles the ball in a play that was overturned by video review during the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

Penn State’s overturned fumble recovery against Oregon is one of the top 10 worst officiating calls of the 2025 season, according to a compilation of referee decisions by On3 national college football reporter and transfer portal insider Pete Nakos. It checks in at No. 7 on his new rankings.

“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 defensive end Chaz Coleman punched the ball out of running back Noah Whittington’s hands,” Nakos writes. “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. The Ducks went up 10-3 on the next play when Moore threw an 8-yard touchdown pass.”

In his postgame news conference, former Penn State head coach James Franklin discussed the call.

“The fumble, to be honest with you, nothing was explained on the sideline,” Franklin said after the Ducks beat the Lions in double overtime. “They said that the runner’s knee was down basically before he broke the tackle and kept running when the ball came out.”

Replay review did not appear to offer enough evidence to reverse the call on the field. But, after head referee Ron Snodgrass spent time reviewing the play, the call was reversed anyway. It wiped out a Wheatley return to the Penn State 49. Oregon scored one play later. The Lions would come back to tie the game, of course, and force the extra sessions. But they can only wonder how the game would have gone if that play had stood as it was ruled on the field.

You can see Nakos’ full list here.

Penn State has lost three straight since Oregon

It’s impossible to pin the loss to Oregon and the three Penn State setbacks that followed, including the one to Northwestern that ended the Franklin era in State College, on the overturned fumble. But it is part of the story that led the Lions to a 3-4 mark? Without question.

Interim head coach Terry Smith will look to lead his team into The Horseshoe Saturday and spring a massive upset at No. 1 Ohio State. Doing so would rival the one UCLA pulled on the Lions a week after falling to the Ducks. Penn State is a 20.5-point underdog according to BetMGM. Kickoff is at Noon ET. FOX will televise the game. The Buckeyes are riding an eight-game winning streak over the Lions.