Sherrone Moore, referees talk Oregon touchdown that shouldn’t have been

Oregon drove the field and took an early lead on Michigan with a two-yard touchdown pass in which quarterback Dillon Gabriel threaded a needle. Michigan corner Aamir Hall had good coverage, but Evan Stewart seemed to make an outstanding catch to give the Ducks the first score in a 38-17 win.

Upon further review, however, it appeared clear the ball had hit the ground. What was third and goal from the two should have been fourth and goal. But the officials on the field appeared to miss the call, and the replay officials did, too.

We asked head coach Sherrone Moore if he had someone in the booth to look at it for a potential challenge.

“They’re supposed to … every touchdown is supposed to be reviewed,” Moore said. “That’s something we’ve got to talk to the Big Ten about. Every touchdown is supposed to be reviewed, so that definitely should have been called and looked at.”

Oregon had been moving the ball well and might have scored anyway. At the same time, the Wolverines could have gotten a stop and an early boost, too.

Referee Ron Snodgrass defended the call after the game.

“All scoring plays are reviewed and cleared by replay. That’s why we always hold up the try, and we’re looking like two thumbs up from the replay assistants on the field,” he said. “We got that and moved on from the play. That’s what happened.

“It was cleared from replay on that play, otherwise we wouldn’t have moved on from the play. Scoring plays, turnovers, everything of that nature is automatically reviewed from replay.”

Snodgrass was then asked if it should have been overturned. There seemed to be clear and convincing evidence of no catch by the Oregon receiver.

“I don’t know. I’m not looking at television, but we got the go ahead on the field to continue play,” he said. “If there’s a television shot that came in later, it might have showed something different. That’s possible. But I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know.

“But I’m just telling you, all scoring plays are reviewed, and we can’t move on until we get a clear. That’s what happened on that play. There could have been something that came in later that showed something different. If that’s the case, that may be the issue.”

Nobody knows what would have happened, and Oregon was clearly the better team Saturday night. Regardless, the Wolverines got a bad break early break that hindered any upset effort, and Moore clearly wasn’t pleased.

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