The TCU Horned Frogs gave Oklahoma a thrashing on Saturday in Ft. Worth with a 55-24 victory, but the game featured several bizarre calls and non-calls by referees that could have changed the outcome in any number of ways.
The first odd call that the referees made against TCU came in the first quarter. TCU had just scored on a 73-yard pass to Taye Barber when the offense was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct due to excessive celebration.
Video at the time showed players high-fiving, but no serious celebration was seen. The 15-yard penalty was enforced on the extra point, which kicker Griffen Kell missed.
The most egregious example came late in the second quarter. Already leading 34-17, the Horned Frogs had just forced a punt from Oklahoma. Receiver Darius Davis slid to his left to catch the kick and took the ball with an open running lane ahead.
Mysteriously, the referees blew the play dead, saying that Davis had called for a fair catch. In football, a player must wave their hand above their head in an obvious manner to declare a fair catch which prevents the kicking team from tackling the receiver but also prevents forward movement of the ball.
During his post-game interview, head coach Sonny Dykes said that referees had explained to him that they saw Davis wave off tacklers. Dykes was quite animated on the field and gave the referees a piece of his mind for several seconds after the play.
Early in the game, OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel took off on a QB run and entered a slide to prevent defenders from hitting him. TCU defender Jamoi Hodge didn’t pull off of his hit, instead leading with his head and contacting Gabriel in the helmet.
Gabriel was down for several minutes, and Hodge was ejected from the game for targeting. On instant replay, it appeared clear that the refs made the correct call on the play.
However, in the third quarter, a Max Duggan pass to Geor’Quarius Spivey went incomplete after OU defensive back Trey Morrison broke up the play. Referees did not call Morrison for pass interference despite video showing the player clearly contacted Spivey well before the ball, but also did not call Morrison for targeting as he led with his head and impacted the helmet of the receiver.
Fortunately, neither player was injured on the play.
Tuta Salaam was the referee in charge of the game on Saturday. Salaam has been with the Big 12 as a referee since 2020 and was a side judge previously. He is currently a member of the NFL Mackie Development Program, which encourages college referees to gain experience with NFL-style officiating, ultimately providing the NFL with well-trained and qualified referees.
