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Fiesta Bowl officiating is getting hammered for first-half performance in CFP semifinal

Sydney Hunte

By Sydney Hunte

Published:

The officiating crew at the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl between Michigan and TCU is getting roundly criticized after 2 quarters of play.

Jason Autrey and his crew, based in the SEC, are in Glendale for Saturday’s game between the Wolverines and Horned Frogs. There have been some interesting calls, including a Roman Wilson catch that was originally ruled a touchdown but was controversially overturned following video review after the Michigan wide receiver was apparently a little short of the goal line. To add insult to injury, the Wolverines fumbled it away to the Horned Frogs at the goal line.

A later call drew plenty more criticism as a TCU defender was whistled for roughing the passer on Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy. This was the play in question:

https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1609315964742688769

Michigan trails 21-6 as it looks to avoid a loss in the CFP semifinals for the 2nd straight season. Meanwhile, Autrey and his crew haven’t made too many friends thus far. They saw their performance panned by both media and college football fans on social media:

https://twitter.com/MatthewMihaleas/status/1609316112667140103?s=20&t=Np07jt-toDHAlH3SIXxnJw

Sydney Hunte