Terrible Roughing The Passer Call Negates USC INT And Results In Utah TD, Brock Huard Jokes That 'Even Tom Brady Disagrees'
USC football held a 14-7 lead over Utah at the end of the first quarter, but it should have been 14-0. At least.
A terrible roughing the passer call completely changed the course of the game and Fox broadcast announcer Brock Huard was not having it. It was a very bad call and it directly affected the score.
Just over 10 minutes into the game, the Trojans picked off Utes quarterback Cam Rising in its own half. The turnover would have flipped the field and given the ball back to Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley's offense.
Instead, defensive lineman Stanley Ta'ufo'ou was flagged for roughing the passer. There was no reason that his tackle should have ever been penalized.
To make matters worse, USC's roughing the passer penalty directly resulted in a Utah touchdown.
On the very next play after the penalty, Utah scored.
Had the flag not been thrown, the play would have resulted in USC ball. Utah could not have scored if it did not have the ball. You get the idea.
Of the many people who disagreed with the call, Huard had the biggest platform. He was on the call in Salt Lake City and went off on the officiating crew.
The former Washington and NFL quarterback knows a thing or two about what is or isn't egregious in terms of laying a hit on the signal-caller. He joked that "even Tom Brady disagreed" with the penalty, who was the benefactor of a controversial call last Sunday.
Huard also said that he got hit harder than Rising was hit on Saturday in junior high.
Protecting the quarterback is important and player safety comes first. However, to say that Ta'ufo'ou "roughed the passer" when he didn't drive Rising into the ground and didn't lead with his helmet is ridiculous. It is to the point that penalties are changing outcomes, which is a serious issue.