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There were several refereeing errors made on Memphis ’94-yard punt return for a fourth-quarter touchdown in the Tigers’ 31-29 win over Mississippi State, the SEC said in a statement. Saturday night.
With 5:58 to go, Mississippi State kicked the ball from its own 47-yard line. The ball went past the returner, Calvin Austin III of Memphis, and a player from Mississippi State returned the ball into the field of play at the goal line. As the ball rested on the turf, Austin picked up the ball and headed for the straight sideline, the speedster passing the surprised Bulldog defenders. This gave Memphis a 28-17 lead.
The SEC posted a tweet after the game, arguing that the return of the punt should have been reviewed after the back judge, a member of a team of SEC officials, signaled to stop the clock after the kicked ball stopped to move. The signal apparently went unnoticed.
– SEC Officiating (@SECOfficiating) September 19, 2021
“I mean, the ball is alive,” Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. “Just because you touch it, they usually whistle it. You know. We have to pick it up and hand it over to the referee.”
Leach, after hearing that the back judge is apparently whistling the game dead, said the game’s movie will be reviewed.
For his part, Austin was well aware of the situation, saying he and his father were talking about it and that the coaches in Memphis had pointed it out as well.
“As soon as I saw the dude trying to grab it and he dropped it and I was watching and waiting to see if someone was going to hand it over to the officials,” Austin said, adding, “They l ‘touched and let him do it. As soon as I saw that, I sprinted to the ball and was able to retrieve it and run with it.’ ‘
The touchdown was one of three Austin scored in the second half on Saturday.
The SEC statement also said two Memphis players wore No.4 during play, which should have resulted in a 5-yard penalty for the Tigers.
In the end, Memphis escaped with the win thanks to a 51-yard field goal from Tigers kicker Joe Doyle with 2:02 to go. A two-part drive for Mississippi State after the field goal was capped by a 36-yard touchdown from quarterback Will Rogers at Makai Polk. But Rogers ‘race for the two-point conversion failed, preserving Memphis’ victory.
The loss was Mississippi State’s first this season (2-1), and kept Memphis undefeated at 3-0 as he headed into the American Athletic Conference game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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