Clemson kicker Greg Huegel missed a 31-yard field goal wide left in the third quarter of Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. You hate to see it.
Clemson, not Ohio State, should’ve been penalized here. Let me explain
The Tigers missed an opportunity, but the penalty should’ve been on them in the first place. And that would’ve helped them. It’s confusing, so let’s sort it out.
But before that, Clemson missed a golden opportunity. A couple of Ohio State down linemen -- No. 67, Robert Landers, and No. 86, Dre’Mont Jones -- appeared to jump offside, into and beyond the neutral zone.
But Clemson long snapper David Estes didn’t release the ball to holder Seth Ryan, and the Buckeyes got themselves back into legal position before the snap and the missed kick. No Clemson blockers were drawn into false movements, which would’ve triggered a flag for a neutral zone infraction. And there wasn’t apparent contact between white and orange jerseys, so there wasn’t an encroachment flag on Ohio State.
One of the Ohio State linemen might’ve still been offside at the time of the snap, but it’s hard to say that conclusively without looking straight down the line.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was clearly angry at the lack of a call, but Clemson erred in not snapping the ball on time. That’s not on the officiating.
But the plot’s thicker than that.
ESPN’s cameras caught Estes, shortly before the players jumped off, fiddling with the ball in a way that looked like he was fake-snapping it. That looks like it drew the two Buckeyes across the line, and it should’ve been called a false start on Estes.
Clemson missed a chance to give itself a free play, but it only got that shot in the first place because of a missed false start call on its own long snapper.
Perversely, that false start would’ve been a good thing for the Tigers, because the play would’ve been blown dead before it happened. Huegel should’ve moved back 5 yards and tried a different kick, instead of attempting and missing a 31-yarder.
Another twist here is that we can see why Estes didn’t snap the ball when the two Buckeyes were offside. It’s because Ryan, his holder, was looking back at the kicker. A snap would’ve gone right past him, and that would’ve been even worse.
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