The Ole Miss Rebels were both unlucky and incompetent late in Saturday’s loss to the Cal Golden Bears.
Down eight points with the ball at the Cal three, the Rebels had third and goal with no timeouts and 22 seconds to get the ball in the end zone. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee found receiver Elijah Moore at the goal line, but the referees ruled him down short of the goal line. They also didn’t stop the clock to review the play despite the fact that it was not remotely clear whether Moore got in or not.
With no timeouts and fourth down, Mississippi couldn’t spike the ball, so Plumlee rushed to the line of scrimmage and tried to run a quarterback sneak. He was stuffed, and the Golden Bears escaped with the road win.
Cal holds off Ole Miss with a crazy final sequence! pic.twitter.com/MT1olzKLDu
— Sports Daily (@SportsDGI) September 21, 2019
Ole Miss did not seem to have a plan when their third down play was stopped short with the clock still running. They probably assumed that if they fell short on that play, it would come as the result of an incompletion, and they’d have time to set something else up. It’s also inexcusable that the referees didn’t look at the third down play, as it certainly seemed possible that Moore crossed the plane.
Here are a few looks at the replay:
I dunno #OleMiss fans – was Elijah Moore in? Here's our angle from the field… pic.twitter.com/ADxBUMz5gL
— Noah Newman (@NoahNewmanWJTV) September 21, 2019
Ole Miss was just robbed.
Please explain to me how this is *not* a touchdown… pic.twitter.com/wO5q5R6yAz
— Baylor Cook (@j_baylorcook) September 21, 2019
Ole Miss’ interim AD issued a statement saying they were “extremely disappointed” with what happened.
Statement from Ole Miss interim Athletic Director Keith Carter regarding Pac-12 officiating on the penultimate play of Cal game. pic.twitter.com/JdnOyfVATe
— SportsPac12 (@SportsPac12) September 21, 2019
