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    • Pass interference on Jeremiah Smith was a “bad decision”
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    Pass interference on Jeremiah Smith was a “bad decision”

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    Count Fox analyst Joel Klatt was one of the people surprised when Ohio State football wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was called for an offensive pass interference penalty against Oregon on Saturday.

    On the final drive, as quarterback Will Howard led the Buckeyes down the field on a potential game-winning drive, Smith attempted to take the lead on a second-and-10 from the Oregon 28 to put his team in better field position on a game-winning field Goal.

    However, Smith appeared to push off Oregon cornerback Nikko Reed to break up and throw in a pass near the 20-yard line. He was called for offensive pass interference, moving Ohio State 15 yards back to the Oregon 43 and virtually out of field goal range. On the final play, Howard fought for a 12-yard lead to the 26-yard line as time expired, giving the Buckeyes no chance for the game-winning kick and giving Oregon the 32-31 victory.

    Required reading: Ohio State Football Stock Report: Defense suffers setback in loss at Oregon

    On Monday, Klatt said he disagreed with the decision against Smith based on previous conversations with officials and the physicality of Saturday's Big Ten match in Eugene.

    “I was shocked when I saw the play they called offensive pass interference,” Klatt said on his eponymous “The Joel Klatt Show.”

    “I talk to officials all the time and generally it comes down to this: When there are offensive pass interferences, they want to see significant overtime. You want the arm to be extended significantly to create separation.”

    Smith, who had nine receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown, was one of the best receivers in college football this year. But he seemed to make a freshman mistake with the so-called push-off. Klatt agreed there was contact between Smith and Reed, but didn't think it was worth the game-changing call.

    “Was there contact between Jeremiah Smith and the corner? Yes. And was it physical? Yes. There is no doubt about it,” Klatt said. “On film, it was physical all night long, and in fact the play in front of Jeremiah Smith is held up the entire time as he tries to run a corner line. It was a physically demanding game. And they had them playing most of the part, throughout the game.

    “Then all of a sudden the corner crouches down and Jeremiah Smith runs his way, touches the corner and then breaks out, doesn't reach out, doesn't push off again to create space. And the flag comes out.” . I thought it was a bad decision.

    “Why? Because according to my conversations with officials, he hasn't extended, he's not pushing. Is there contact? Yes. Was there contact at every game before that? Yes. The fact that the flag came out there was a bad call.

    Required reading: Was Oregon intentionally penalized on Ohio State's last drive? NCAA football rules, explained

    Saturday's loss may not be the only time Ohio State will face Oregon this season. With the Ducks in the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, the Buckeyes and Ducks could potentially meet two more times this year.

    Ohio State will initially have a bye week before resuming play against Nebraska on October 26th.

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    Kathleen William
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