If You Thought The Protest Before USC-Cal Was Wild, Wait Till You See The How Third Quarter Started, Thanks To Pac-12 Refs

Just when I thought I'd seen everything in college football, the Pac-12 surprised us all during the USC-Cal game. If you thought the protest to start the game was wild, the officials decided to one-up the field stormers.

As the first half was coming to an end with USC trailing 28-17, Caleb Williams threw up a pass that was caught with what looked like one-second remaining. Unfortunately for the officiating crew, they did not figure this out until the marching band had taken the field.

There should've been one-second left for USC to attempt a field goal before halftime, but the Pac-12 referees are just bad.

This led to Lincoln Riley losing his mind on the officials, five minutes into halftime, with both teams in their respective locker rooms.

So, with the band on the field, and both teams regrouping, Justin Wilcox and Lincoln Riley were having a heated discussion with the officials.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, the Pac-12 told us all to hold their beer.

USC-Cal Had One Last Play Of Second Quarter, In 3rd Quarter

In a wild turn of events, since both teams were already in the locker room, the officials tried something new. After reviewing the last play of first half, there was one-second remaining on the clock, but the officials decided to wait until after halftime.

So, both teams would start the second half by finishing off the first, with one last play of the second quarter.

Just to add a little spice to the situation, California head coach Justin Wilcox used his final timeout of the FIRST half to ice the kicker. Turns out, the trick worked and USC missed the field goal, keeping the score at 28-17.

Guess what? It was time to start the third quarter.

So not only did we go back in time for one play, both teams then started the second half. You can't make this stuff up, but it's pretty on-par for Pac-12 officiating.

Man, I love this sport.