Pac-12 confirms referees made the right calls on the Cal at Ole Miss ending

After the Ole Miss interim athletic director voiced a public complaint about the end-of-game Pac-12 officiating that might have helped seal Ole Miss’s fate against Cal, the conference clapped back with a “Nah.”

To summarize the statement from Pac-12 Vice President of Officiating David Coleman, the officials made the right call on the final two plays that the Rebels did not score a touchdown, and there was no irrefutable video evidence to reverse those calls by replay. All replay angles appeared inconclusive, and based on this sideline video, the judgment of the Pac-12 sideline official appears correct.

Based on the tape, even if there was a replay, there would not have been good enough evidence to overcome the call, because the Ole Miss player did not possess the football anywhere near the goal-line.

And the Pac-12 COULD have reviewed the play if Ole Miss had taken a gamble and let the clock expire, but because the Landsharks had let the clock run on every play since 1st and goal, they were short on time (barely 10 seconds left) and decided to not take chances and run a play. That is not enough turnaround time for replay officials to buzz in a call, especially when the replays already look inconclusive.

The Golden Bears won, and it wasn’t due to an assist from the officiating. Let’s move on!