Adam Spencer | 4 hours ago
Mississippi State will leave Memphis with a bitter taste in its mouth.
That’s because 2 late game-changing plays were absolutely botched by the game’s officiating crew.
On the first play, Memphis picked up a punt that had been touched by Mississippi State and returned it 93 yards for a touchdown. That’s perfectly legal, but one ref was already signaling the play over:
How in the world was this not reviewed?
Referee clearly signals the play down for Mississippi State. pic.twitter.com/zqeAlBveYv
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 18, 2021
Exciting, wild play, right? Well, it turns out Memphis had 2 players wearing the same number (No. 4) on the field for that play, so it shouldn’t have counted.
Then, later in the game, Mississippi State appeared to recover an onside kick, but it was ruled on the field that the Bulldogs touched the ball before the 10-yard limit. Upon review, it was discovered that the ball did travel the required 10 yards.
MSU ball, right? Well, no. The refs said there was an illegal block on the play. The problem? You’re not allowed to call that after a review.
Fans and media members were irate. You can see some of the reaction on Twitter:
Mississippi State fans should have legit gripes over this officiating. What a mess.
— John Talty (@JTalty) September 18, 2021
Memphis had two #4 on the field on their punt return for a touchdown lol
— Scott Strasemeier (@ScottStras) September 18, 2021
So they just discovered another missed call on the bogus punt return. pic.twitter.com/KbB7qm57Gu
— Justin M. Strawn (@JustinMStrawn) September 18, 2021
You can’t call a penalty after the fact. Look, that’s the right call, but you can’t go find that penalty in replay.
— Justin M. Strawn (@JustinMStrawn) September 18, 2021
Unbelievable officiating debacle. Mississippi State gets the ball on replay, but the refs spot an illegal block so it’s a re-kick. I didn’t know you could come up with a penalty like that on review.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 18, 2021
This Memphis-Mississippi State ref crew is awful, should never be allowed to do another game
— Adam Jacobs (@ItsOKItsAJ) September 18, 2021
Mississippi State got screwed twice by the referees in this game. Pshhhh unreal. These refs are the worst.
— Maxwell Miller (@MaxwellVaughn) September 18, 2021
This Mississippi State game is a great example of referees “making up stuff” to favor the home team #rigged #homer
— Neal Kasamoto 🤙 (@nkvball) September 18, 2021
I got no dog in this Memphis and Mississippi State game but these refs in this 4th quarter… #CFB pic.twitter.com/yGtyZfEb6z
— Rollin Herold (@Iam_Rollin) September 18, 2021
@NCAA someone needs to lose their job over this Mississippi State game.
— Jackson Slay (@slayjh) September 18, 2021
Is it just me or is Mississippi state getting absolutely hosed today? pic.twitter.com/jTDZiyS8tH
— Michael B (@Michael_B7) September 18, 2021
Mississippi State ended up losing 31-29.
