In a controversial turn of events, Jeff Brohm’s Louisville Cardinals walked away with a significant break against the Clemson Tigers, snatching what many are calling a blatant touchback violation. Replays and camera angles suggest a glaring oversight or bias on the part of the referees. Automatically, it left Clemson fans outraged on social media platforms like X.

In the second quarter, with 9:43 remaining, quarterback Miller Moss connected with wide receiver Chris Bell for a long 37-yard gain. The play would have placed the Cardinals close to the end zone, but Bell fumbled; still, Louisville recovered the ball. After that, two plays later, Moss took the ball in from the 1-yard line, which gave Louisville a 9-3 lead. Now, that’s where the problem started.

So, Bell’s long catch came under review as he reached for the pylon. However, officials ruled he stepped out at the 1-yard line, upholding the call, which ultimately resulted in a touchdown for the Cardinals. That’s when fans fumed in anger, just like this one who hits X, saying, “This is a Louisville fumble and should be a touchback. Clemson got robbed. Refs are horrendous.”

Video footage showed Bell lost control of the ball before scoring and ended up fumbling it out of the end zone. Even ESPN’s analyst Matt Austin thinks it was an unfair call for the Clemson Tigers. As an insider page hits X with his update: “Miller Moss dime ➡️ Chris Bell for 37 yards—ESPN Rules analyst Matt Austin said he believes this should’ve been ruled a touchback & Clemson’s ball because Bell lost possession of the ball and the ball went over the pylon before any body part was down.”

But it turns out officials ignored the glaring evidence. That miss helped Louisville take the lead over Clemson, ultimately hampering their chances. If such calls continue, this might give Clemson a déjà vu of their last year’s 33-21 fallout against Louisville at home, as they are already trailing with a 13-19 score against the Cardinals in the 4th quarter with 7:49 minutes left.

Look, Louisville’s defense is already pretty solid, ranking 14th nationally in total defense and allowing just 296.8 yards per game. But they did come up short against the Bears, giving up a season-worst 427 yards. Now, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik has thrown for more than 300 yards twice this season. But if such calls continue, things might go out of their hands pretty soon.

Significantly, this match could not only dash Clemson’s hopes for a championship but also end their chances of competing for the title. However, for now, fans can’t stop highlighting the incorrect call.

Fans enraged over the wrong call in Clemson game against Louisville

Things got ugly for the Clemson Tigers against Louisville, and fans can’t stop stressing over this game-changing moment. As this one pointed straight at referees, saying, “Replay official in the Louisville-Clemson game was a shady. Didn’t want to see any additional camera. We all believe it’s upheld, right guys? Right guys? It’s pretty clear that it should have been a touchback, but ACC loses a lot if Clemson wins this game.” This isn’t the first time something of this sort has happened.

Something of this sort happened to Penn State as well, which turned the entire game in their favor. As in the third quarter, Oregon was moving the ball well and reached Penn State’s 9-yard line. Then Chaz Coleman hit the ball out of Ducks RB Noah Whittington’s hands, and then Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley picked it up and ran to midfield. The refs first said it was a fumble, and later, watching the replay, they changed their verdict and said it was not a fumble. Because of that, Oregon kept the ball and on the next play took a 10-3 lead.

Now, watching something of this sort again made fans think about the fairness of the game. As this fan said, “The ACC official that just rushed the replay call in this Clemson/Louisville game CLEARLY has money on the game and needs to be investigated by the FBI immediately. Did anyone else just see that?” This fan’s also doubling down on the same stance as ESPN’s Matt Austin, who pointed this out as a significant blunder. And it certainly makes sense, as that missed call not only gave the Cardinals the lead but also significantly reduced the Tigers’ chances of winning.

The demand for fairness continues to grow as more fans join the rally, saying, “That was a damn touchback.” Their ignorance was clearly visible as Bell lost control and fumbled the ball. So it should have been a touchback and possession for Clemson, but the ball stayed with Louisville. Officials might ignore Louisville’s play, but Clemson fans remain in their right to back their team.