Syracuse was the beneficiary of a blown call during the Orange’s 33-30 overtime win over Toledo on Saturday.
With 2:07 left and the Orange trailing 27-23, quarterback Ryan Nassib found Alec Lemon in the back of the endzone as the Orange took a 29-27 lead.
Kicker Ross Krautman trotted on the field to kick the extra point, and appeared to miss wide. The officials reviewed the play, and it was allowed to stand.
“You’re only allowed to review it if it goes above the bar, to my knowledge,” Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said. “My knowledge of the rule is that if the ball goes above the bar, you are allowed to go ahead and review it. I don’t know if it did or not, and then they came back and said that the extra point was good. But that was really the explanation that they told me.”
It was the wrong explanation.
After the game, Big East coordinator of officials Terry McAulay released the following statement:
“After studying the videos of the Syracuse extra point attempt at 2:07 of the fourth quarter, we have concluded that the ruling on the field that the kick passed between the uprights was incorrect, and that the replay official made an error in failing to reverse that ruling. In reviewing the video, we have determined that the angle from behind the kicking team shows conclusively that the ball passes outside the right upright.
Our review of the process determined that the replay official mistakenly focused his attention on the sideline angle, which proved to be distorted. We are confident that our officiating staff will learn from this situation in order to prevent a reoccurrence.”
It turned out to be a crucial call, as Toledo drove deep into Syracuse territory on the ensuing possession. Ryan Casano’s 20 yard field goal sent the game into overtime.
After Kevyn Scott’s interception on Toledo’s opening overtime drive, the Orange called on Krautman again. This time, there would be no doubt, as his 27-yard kick was drilled straight through the uprights, improving Syracuse to 3-1 on the season.
“Every kick is a new kick,” Krautman said. “I had all my trust in the line, the snapper, and the holder. I know that they are always going to do good. The thing is to just always focus, stay in the zone, and just move on from the last kick.”
Corey Mallonee contributed to this article.
