Iowa State football lost to Ohio University by three points on Saturday. The Cyclones fell to 1-2 on the year after their roster was decimated by an offseason gambling scandal and then hit by food poisoning earlier this week.
They also appeared to lose after a made field goal was called no good. Or maybe it was actually no good.
This is where the college football controversy lies.
Iowa State lined up for a field goal with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. A made kick would have been its first points of the afternoon. That appeared to be the case.
From the television broadcast angle, the kick flew between the uprights and went in. However, the two officials standing under the goalposts disagreed and waved it dead.
No good. No points.
Here is how it all went down in real time:
Even the replay angle from under the goal post appeared to show the ball cross inside the uprights. At a minimum, the ball flew over the right upright and created an illusion. Maybe. It just didn’t look like it.
The kick certainly looked good upon review.
Here is another look at the replay angle:
Looks good to me. pic.twitter.com/hYWZVxwpfX
— Travis Cabage (@Travis_Cabage) September 16, 2023
Social media immediately erupted in debate, though most football fans agreed that the kick was good.
Whether the kick went in or not, Iowa State should not lose to a G5 opponent at home. Even if a large chunk of its roster was out due to illness. Even if Ohio is a good team, which it is.
The loss was unahttps://twitter.com/OhioFootball/status/1703123375001075812?s=20cceptable.
But with that being said — if the field goal was good and called good, the Cyclones would have tied the game with its late fourth quarter touchdown and the game would have gone to overtime. Instead, the referees determined that the kick was no good and they lost.
Was it good? Or was it a miss?