Coach Bob Chesney and the UCLA football program improved to 5-0 on the season after a 17-15 victory over the Oregon Ducks in a Big Ten Conference game on Saturday, Oct. 10.
It was the first time UCLA beat Oregon on the road since 2004.
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Quarterback Brock Thomas found receiver Evan Stewart to help put the Ducks in position to tie the game against the Bruins, scoring a touchdown on a 44-yard play with 2:16 left in the final quarter.
The Ducks needed a successful two-point conversion and decided to go with a run play up the middle.
Oregon attempted to run with the ball on a two-point conversion attempt, but were stopped short. However, a facemask penalty was called and the Ducks were given a second chance at the try. The game officials misplaced the football following the penalty, half the distance to the end zone from the original line of scrimmage, rather than half the distance to the goal from the end of Oregon’s run on the initial two-point try. On the second two-point conversion attempt, running back Jordon Davison was given the ball to run up the middle, but he was stopped short of the end zone by the UCLA defense.
The conference announced on Sunday that a mistake was made during the play.
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The Big Ten officials spotted the ball half the distance to the goal from the original spot of the Ducks’ try, but the conference said the spot should have been half the distance to the goal from the end of the run on Oregon’s first attempt. On Sunday, Oct. 11, the conference issued a statement on the error:
“With 2:16 remaining in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s UCLA-Oregon game, Big Ten officials incorrectly officiated Oregon’s final two-point conversion attempt.
“Following the first attempt that resulted in a personal foul penalty for a facemask on the UCLA defense, the ball was spotted for the second attempt half-the-distance from the goal from the original line of scrimmage of the first attempt. According to the rule, the ball should have been spotted half-the-distance to the goal from the end of the run of the first attempt.
“The Big Ten has been in contact with its officiating team from Saturday’s game regarding the error and will continue to emphasize consistent application of the playing rules.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big Ten issues statement for referee mishap from UCLA vs. Oregon game
