Officials miss two penalties on Clemson missed field goal attempt

(ESPN) Clemson missed a third-quarter field goal during Saturday night’s Fiesta Bowl in the midst of a wacky sequence where officials missed two pre-snap penalties.
With the Tigers leading 17-0, Clemson kicker Greg Huegel snap-hooked a 31-yard field goal as the Ohio State defense appeared to completely stop as Huegel kicked the football. Why? Well, two Buckeyes players appeared to jump offside.
Ohio State appeared to jump offside. After a moment of confusion, the Pac-12 officiating crew working the game ruled the two players got back onside before the snap. But if you look closely, the hand of Ohio State defensive lineman Robert Landers was in the neutral zone.
That wasn’t the only missed call. There was a reason Landers jumped. The officials also missed a snap penalty on Clemson. The long snapper isn’t supposed to simulate the movement of a snap, and look what happens to cause Ohio State to jump.
This is why Ohio State defenders moved. Of course, one missed call doesn’t make up for another missed call. But perhaps Huegel’s miss was a little bit of Ball Don’t Lie (shoutout to our NBA blog) karma given that Clemson committed the first missed penalty.
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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