Syracuse coach Doug Marrone “understands” Toledo’s frustration after Syracuse’s controversial win over Toledo on Saturday.
The Orange was awarded an extra point late in the fourth quarter when replays clearly showed the kick was wide right.
“I understand their feelings,” Marrone said during his weekly press conference. “But as far as we’re concerned here, we’ve moved on to the next opponent.”
The kick in question happened with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter. The Orange was trailing 27-23 when Ryan Nassib threw to Alec Lemon for a go-ahead touchdown.
When Ross Krautman went to kick the extra point, it appeared to miss, but it was ruled good on the field and then confirmed by the officials on the replay. Toledo drove down the field on the ensuing possession and kicked a game-tying field goal to force the game into overtime.
Had the extra point been ruled not good, Toledo would’ve won the game on that kick. Instead, Syracuse went on to win the game in overtime, 33-30.
Following the game, the Big East reviewed the play and determined that Krautman had indeed missed the extra point. The Big East then released a statement confirming the error.
“I agree with that statement,” Marrone said. “I just know that in this game, there is a lot of human error on everyone’s part – coaches, players, officials.”
On Sunday, Toledo athletic director Mike O’Brien asked both the Mid-American Conference and the Big East to act on that error, vacating Syracuse’s win and awarding it to the Rockets.
The following day, O’Brien accepted the outcome.
“While we are obviously disappointed for the student-athletes, coaches and fans that an officiating error played a role in the outcome of our football game at Syracuse, we accept the ruling from the Big East and the NCAA Football Rules Committee that the final outcome of the game cannot be reversed,” he said in a statement. “We appreciate the efforts of those who looked into this matter. We consider the matter closed and now look forward to the remainder of the Rocket football season.”
