Josh Heupel to face source of one of his biggest postseason nightmares in Tennessee Vols' playoff game vs. Ohio State
Few things have gotten under the skin of Tennessee Vols fans in recent years than the way a handful of officiating gaffes altered a couple of games during Josh Heupel's first season back in 2021. One of those came in the Music City Bowl, when the Vols faced the Purdue Boilermakers. In overtime, with the […]
Few things have gotten under the skin of Tennessee Vols fans in recent years than the way a handful of officiating gaffes altered a couple of games during Josh Heupel's first season back in 2021.
One of those came in the Music City Bowl, when the Vols faced the Purdue Boilermakers. In overtime, with the game tied at 45 and the Vols facing 4th and goal at the one-yard line, Jaylen Wright fought his way to the edge of the goal line and stuck the ball clearly over the line. However, the officials ruled that his forward progress was stopped despite Wright still fighting to get to and across the goal line, thus causing a turnover on downs and sending Heupel into an understandable tirade on the field. Purdue would kick a field goal for a 48-45 win.
The same referee from that game, Jerry Magallanes, will reportedly be the referee when the Vols take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, December 21 in the first round of the College Football Playoff, per FootballZebras.com, a website that tracks officiating assignments.
Magallanes has been wrapped up in controversy far beyond the 2021 Music City Bowl, where Tennessee was flagged for 14 penalties to Purdue's 5. As an ACC official, he and his crew have been involved in a couple of the most memorable and controversial endings in recent college football memory.
The first came on Halloween night back in 2015, when Miami and Duke faced off. With seconds left and trailing by three, Miami threw eight laterals and ultimately weaved their way into the end zone. The crew picked up a penalty flag after review for an illegal block in the back and ruled a Miami player's knee wasn't down in upholding the touchdown. The decision was widely panned and resulted in Magallanes and his crew getting suspended.
They were also the crew in charge of the Virginia Tech-Miami game this year that ended in extreme controversy. Virginia Tech "caught" a Hail Mary on the final play that appeared to give the Hokies a miraculous win. However, after review, the play was reversed to an incomplete pass, a decision that appeared hard to make given the difficulty in finding the ball on replay.
The challenge is already going to be at a peak on Saturday when the Vols face a very talented Buckeye team in freezing temperatures on the road. Hopefully, they won't have to deal with officiating questions as well. History says that, with this crew, that's a distinct possibility.
Tennessee Vols’ Josh Heupel has an amusing response to question about the weather ahead of playoff matchup with Ohio State
It’s going to be frigid on Saturday night in Columbus
