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Touchdown or interception? Controversial play in Illinois-Nebraska leaves both teams celebrating

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

Illinois was the beneficiary of a controversial ruling on Friday night in Lincoln.

Dylan Raiola appeared to throw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Neyor midway through the second quarter on Friday night. However, the ball was ripped away from Neyor’s grasp as he was falling to the ground. Illinois defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. took it away and managed to maintain possession on his way to the ground.

As Cox was celebrating what he considered to be an interception, officials on the field ruled that it was touchdown for Nebraska. That ruling caused an unusual situation as both teams celebrated what they believed to be a game-changing play in their favor.

After a lengthy replay review, the call on the field was overturned to an Illinois interception.

Here’s a replay of the controversial play:

It does appear that Illinois defensive back Cox was able to wrestle the ball away before Neyor gained full possession, but it could be argued that there wasn’t enough conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field.

Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira said he believed the call should be overturned to an interception, but did acknowledge that there may not have been enough evidence to overturn the call on the field.

In the end, the officials working the game did find enough evidence to do so and took the points off the board for Nebraska.

The controversy didn’t end there, either. Illinois’ ensuing offensive possession ended with a turnover on downs after officials missed a face mask penalty that was committed against Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer.

Nebraska closed as a 9-point favorite over the Fighting Illini.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.