SAN FRANCISCO — The Pac-12 Conference admitted to an officiating error that happened in the third quarter between Washington State and Cal on November 9.
With 10:14 left in the third quarter, Washington State was receiving a kickoff after Cal scored to make it 20-11. Travell Harris returned the kickoff to the 50 yard line, but it was brought back to the Cougs eight yard line because of a hands to the face penalty on WSU. The mistake was that the hands to the face penalty was supposed to be called on Cal.
The mix up came from what the conference calls a "mechanical error" in officiating. The penalty was called on number 15 of the receiving team, which is Armauni Archie. It was supposed to be on number 15 on the kicking team.
Ironically, number 15 on Cal's roster is Ben Moos. Moos is a former Pullman High School athlete and the son of former Washington State athletic director Bill Moos.
According to the Pac-12, after the next play, the officiating crew informed Washington State the referees made the wrong call.
According to the Pac-12, Washington State should have started the drive on Cal's 35 yard line instead of inside of its own 10 yard line.
The drive ended in a made field goal by WSU kicker Blake Mazza to make it 20-14 in the third quarter.
While it's impossible to tell if Washington State would have scored a touchdown with the better field position, there's no debating whether it would have helped.
The referee who made the call has been suspended for one game by the conference.
