The Wolverines escaped controversy in their season opener, or perhaps walked straight into it. A referee’s intervention against WMU became the talking point of the night, and now, with Oklahoma in town, Michigan Stadium appears to be witnessing another moment that has fans talking.
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Michigan’s clash with Oklahoma put the officials under immediate scrutiny in the Week 2 clash at Ann Arbor. Flags piled up early, and social media erupted as fans saw a pass interference call against the Sooners as the referees’ attempt to again rescue Michigan’s struggling offense.
With Michigan backed up at its own 23-yard line on its first drive of the game and facing a daunting third-and-nine, Bryce Underwood’s incomplete pass appeared to end the drive. However, a pass interference penalty against Oklahoma’s C. Guillory handed the Wolverines a crucial lifeline.
After that, the Wolverines found themselves in another third-down situation near midfield later in the first quarter when a pass interference call against Oklahoma’s Courtland Guillory extended the drive.
The break proved costly as Bryce Underwood soon burst 38 yards for a touchdown against the Sooners, giving Michigan a badly needed lift after last week’s fiasco. The decision frustrated college football fans, who took to social media to call out the officials.
“This is an SEC officiating crew working Oklahoma-Michigan in case you were wondering,” said College Football insider Andy Staples. One fan ripped the referees, saying, “Not a good start by the refs when you have to clarify this 5 minutes into the game.”
One fan highlighted all the questionable calls that occurred during the game, writing, “Here we go again. MICHIGAN vs. Oklahoma. 4th down, Michigan runs into the kicker. Flag thrown; Oklahoma ball. Then, on 4th down again, Michigan runs into the kicker—no flag called. Come on, man. These refs are ridiculous.”
That was just the beginning, as Oklahoma fans found another reason to question the officiating when safety Michael Boganowski was flagged for targeting following a hard hit on Bryce Underwood, only for the call to be overturned after review.
The fans didn’t even like the fumble call on Oklahoma’s Parker Livingstone, which secured Michigan its first turnover of the game. In the initial view, it appeared that Livingstone’s knee was down before a Michigan player knocked the ball out of his hands. However, the replay showed that the correct call was made. Livingstone’s knee wasn’t down.
However, with a lot of close calls going in Michigan’s favor, the frustration among fans over the officiating is understandable. Ironically, the officials were from the SEC under an agreement allowing the visiting team’s conference to provide the referees.
Last week’s game was also controversial, even though the Big Ten provided its side of the story. However, that has not stopped fans from believing that Michigan is once again receiving favorable treatment.
One fan blamed the conference, saying, “Makes sense, SEC officiating is terrible.”
“So the refs are already favoring Michigan. Cool. This game isn’t going to be fun. #Oklahoma #Michigan,” a fan added.
Another fan pointed out how the game appeared to have been made favorable for Michigan, writing, “4 blatant bad calls all for OU halfway thru the first quarter lmao.”
Favorable or not, the Wolverines are certainly looking to clinch a victory against the Sooners, but will the whistle remain the same?