Analysts ‘sickened’ after onside kick call in Michigan win against Minnesota

Michigan football did just about everything it could to squander a three-touchdown lead, but got some help from the officials late in the fourth quarter to hold off Minnesota 27-24 on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

Minnesota linebacker Matt Kingsbury was ruled offside on the onside kick, which the Golden Gophers recovered at the Wolverines’ 38-yard line with 1:36 to play and trailing 27–24. Kingsbury recovered the kick after it bounced past Michigan’s coverage team.

“I’m feeling nauseous right now, I really am,” Fox analyst Chris Petersen, the former head coach of Boise State and Washington, said after the game. “I hate to see this when the referees come up with something. Like I don’t know why they would throw that flag. For me these are always close calls, that ball is kicked. That’s not a big deal… what are they? ” What we do is let the children play.

“We would always say: with one action you never lose the match, with one action you can win the match, but when it comes to a referee’s decision? Do you know how difficult it is to execute an onsides kick feed? … And then they got it, they did it perfectly, and then it was taken away? I don’t like that at all, that’s so frustrating, that’s why I don’t coach now.”

Mike Pereira, Fox’s rules analyst, disagreed with the call in real time during the broadcast. It was “terribly close,” he said.

‘I don’t think he’s offside. I don’t think he’s going to destroy the plane,” Pereira said. The piece is not reviewable.

Tyler Morris, a senior receiver who is on the Wolverines’ hands team and was present for both offside attempts, said it was a “relief” when he realized the referee had called offside.

“When they found it again, it definitely brought up a lot of feelings,” Morris said. “We knew we had to hang in there again and hoped our defense could keep them from not even getting a field goal. And once we realized it was offside, it was definitely a huge relief.”