Wolverine Digest

Michigan Wolverines football makes list of worst ever in game calls...three times

Jerred Johnson|
Michigan Wolverines helmets. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Michigan Wolverines helmets. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

In the history of bad calls, Michigan football has taken some bad ones. Michigan fans will surely remember a few of these, at the risk of causing stress and reigniting nightmares, we will break down the three worst calls in Michigan football history. Well, maybe not history, but in recent Michigan football history.

1. Michigan vs South Carolina, Outback Bowl 2013 "The first down that wasn't"

Outback Bow
South Carolina Gamecocks running back Rico Dowdle (5) scores a touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Michigan ran a fake punt with a little more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, with the ballcarrier ending up short of the first down. The run resulted in a measurement call from the refs. The sticks were extended and the ball was inches short of the first down. The referee standing next to the sticks, which clearly showed Michigan was short, confidently indicated a first down... for the Wolverines.

The South Carolina Gamecocks sideline exploded in disbelief. Coach Steve Spurrier jumped on the field right next to the ball and started angrily pointing out the injustice. The call stood, even though ESPN's camera angles made it very clear that the call was wrong and the ball was short of the first-down marker. This call went Michigan's way; the next couple did not.

2. Michigan vs. Ohio State, 2016 "JT was short!"

The Ohio State-Michigan football game is the biggest game in college football, perhaps in all of sports, every single year, but 2016’s will stand forever as one of its most memorable for the controversial way it ended. With Michigan up by a field goal in overtime, the Wolverines came all out on a blitz to stack up Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett on a fourth down. It looked like the rabid Wolverine defense succeeded, but the officials said they didn’t. OSU scored the winning touchdown shortly after the highly contentious fourth-down spot went his way. Had Barrett been correctly ruled down short of the first down marker the game would have ended, in a massive Michigan win. Ohio State and Michigan fans have argued since that moment and will continue to argue for eternity about whether the spot Barrett was given was a fair spot. The stakes were enormous, with a Big Ten title on the line for Michigan and a Playoff bid in the balance for Ohio State, all changed and impacted by one singular call.

3. Michigan vs Michigan State 2015 "Phantom targeting call"

In 2015, at The Big House, one of the most egregious targeting calls in history occurred. Naturally, it went against the Wolverines in their own house. Leading tackler Joe Bolden was clearly shoved, by two MSU players, on top of quarterback Connor Cook who had been downed by another Michigan player. The refs called Bolden, who had been pushed, for targeting and kicked him out of the game. The call took the leader and heart and soul out of the defensive unit. Of course, that was not the play that this game would be forever remembered for, but that is not something I will discuss today, or ever.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

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Jerred Johnson
JERRED JOHNSON

Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration.

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