For the second straight week, a controversial call has resulted in trash raining down onto a college football field. This week, Ohio State fans were littering the field at Ohio Stadium after a questionable targeting call in the team’s 21-17 win over Nebraska.
One week after Texas fans hurled water bottles onto the field in Austin, some members of the Ohio State faithful did the same in Columbus. Late in the fourth quarter, with Nebraska driving for the win, Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese laid a big hit on Huskers wide receiver Jahmal Banks.
As the pass fell incomplete, officials flagged Reese for targeting. After an official review, the controversial call was upheld, despite a lack of helmet-to-helmet contact.
When the decision was announced, Ohio State Ryan Day went into a fit of rage, and the fans at Ohio Stadium weren’t any happier. Airplane bottles, beers and even cheese began to litter the field. It was the exact result many across college football feared after the Texas-UGA game: That unhappy fans would begin expressing their unrest nonverbally.
The scene was eerily familiar to the one that occurred last weekend in Austin after a defensive pass interference call overturned what would have been a game-changing pick six for Texas. Unlike last weekend, however, the officials did not reverse the call as Reese was ejected from the game.
In the end, that call didn’t cost the Buckeyes. Just three plays later, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola threw an interception that sealed a 21-17 victory for Ohio State.
