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The Oregon Ducks suffered a narrow defeat to the UCLA Bruins, then ranked No. 21, on Saturday at Autzen Stadium, and a officiating mistake has only intensified the frustration for Ducks fans as the team falls to 0-2 on the season.
On Sunday, the Big Ten released a statement acknowledging that its officials erred in spotting the ball on Oregon's second two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. The attempt came after a facemask penalty on UCLA during the first try, which gave the Ducks another opportunity to tie the game.
"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," the statement read. "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 to the goal from the original line of scrimmage of the first attempt. Per the rule, the ball should have been spotted the half-the-distance to the goal from the end of the run of the first attempt."
The conference added that it has been in contact with its officiating team regarding the error and will continue to emphasize consistent application of the playing rules.
What Happened in UCLA vs. Oregon
Oregon nearly tied the game when quarterback Brock Thomas connected with Evan Stewart for a 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, reducing UCLA's lead to 17-15. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, a facemask penalty on the Bruins gave Oregon another chance after Thomas was stopped short of the goal line. Thomas did gain some yardage, but the controversy centers on where the ball was spotted afterward.
Instead of placing the ball inside the 1-yard line—half-the-distance to the goal from where Thomas was down, as the referee announced inside Autzen Stadium—the officials spotted it at the 1.5-yard line, half-the-distance from the original try. The moment prompted Oregon coach Dan Lanning to run onto the field in search of an explanation, but the officials did not follow the referee's announcement for an unknown reason. The Ducks failed to convert the subsequent try on a rushing attempt by running back Jordon Davison, though Davison appeared to gain at least half a yard on the carry.
While the mistake and the Big Ten's statement do not mean that Oregon should have won or would have won, they add a new element to the loss. A successful two-point conversion would have only tied the game.
Potential Implications for Oregon Ducks
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee may already be taking into account the injury to quarterback Dante Moore when evaluating that loss, and the official statement from the Big Ten could also give the Ducks the benefit of the doubt in the two-point defeat. That being said, the team will likely have to run the table to even be considered for an at-large bid, which means beating teams like Nebraska, No. 25 Northwestern, No. 4 Ohio State, and the rest of the schedule.
As Oregon coach Dan Lanning emphasized on Saturday after the loss, he wants everyone to focus on the current moment instead of "10 weeks from now." "We're fighting an uphill battle now, right? And it's again, you can't look 10 weeks ahead. You have to look at what's in front of us right now. We don't control our destiny anymore, right? It's not necessarily just up to us, but we do control how we respond. It's very similar to what I just told our players in the locker room, right?" said Lanning.