The USC-Cal game began under bizarre circumstances Saturday, and things somehow got much stranger just before halftime.
To make a long story short, the Trojans and Golden Bears finished the first half after halftime. Let that insane statement sink in for a minute.
How did this happen? Many fans are wondering the same thing.
Here’s what happened. As both teams headed for the locker rooms at halftime, officials determined there was still one second on the clock, and they called both teams out to give USC one more play at the Golden Bears’ 16-yard line.
That infuriated Cal coach Justin Wilcox.
One problem: Halftime activities were already getting started on the field (cue your own “Band on the field” jokes from that infamous 1982 Cal-Stanford finish).
So officials made the decision to finish the first half after the teams returned from halftime.
That wasn’t the end of the controversy, however, as USC kicker Denis Lynch used halftime to practice field goals from the exact spot he would be kicking to start the second half.
In the end, Lynch missed the kick.
The game had already featured one bizarre event, as protesters demanding a suspended UC-Berkley professor be reinstated waged a sit-in at midfield, delaying the game’s start by 15 minutes.
Fans all agreed they’d never seen anything like the halftime snafu happen before, certainly not in a major college football game.
https://twitter.com/decrappy1/status/1718390939478065499
Even if that’s the right call, the PAC-12 officials blew it by not reviewing the replay and making the call when it occurred.
— JeffC (@bksago99) October 28, 2023
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.