ESPN/Twitter
- The officials in the LSU-Oklahoma College Football Playoff matchup are under fire for a missed pass interference call late in the first quarter.
- Tigers cornerback Derek Stingley grabbed Sooners wide receiver Jadon Haselwood's right shoulder and dragged him to the turf as he cut downfield for a Jalen Hurts pass.
- Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was visibly livid on the sidelines, and fans were dismayed at the lack of attention the call received.
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The Oklahoma Sooners find themselves in quite a hole just one half into their College Football Playoff semifinal against the LSU Tigers.
But a blatant pass interference missed by the officials added insult to the ugly first half for the Sooners.
Late in the first quarter, Sooners wide receiver Jadon Haselwood cut towards the sideline at the Oklahoma 40 looking to pull in a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts. Instead, LSU cornerback Derek Stingley grabbed his right shoulder and dragged him to the turf before he could get back to the ball.
The officials declined to throw a flag on the play, and the Sooners were forced to punt it away on fourth down.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley clearly disagreed with the no-call and didn't hide his frustration on the sideline.
Twitter users were quick to criticize the missed call online, with some people calling back to the famous missed pass interference call that kept the New Orleans Saints out of the 2019 Super Bowl:
At the half, LSU led Oklahoma 49-14 thanks to Heisman-winning quarterback Joe Burrow's historic 403-yard, seven-touchdown first-half performance. The winner of Saturday's matchup will face either the Clemson Tigers or the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game.
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This was not called pass interference #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/giHfSgLT0n
- ESPN (@espn) December 28, 2019
Lincoln Riley is going ballistic at the officials after that non-call pic.twitter.com/H8lipJrc5o
- Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) December 28, 2019
Pretty clear pass interference on 3rd down by LSU that didn't even get acknowledged by the officials #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/GCn25EFLQ0
- Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) December 28, 2019
Other than tackling the Oklahoma WR, that wasn't pass interference.
- Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 28, 2019
HOW DO YOU NOT CALL THAT PASS INTERFERENCE?????
- Damien Harris (@DHx34) December 28, 2019
I have zero care about who wins the #LSUvsOU game but the ref should be fired immediately for missing that pass interference call... that wasn't even close.
- Nerf Herd Guy (@TheNerfHerd) December 28, 2019
lol this is an atrocious no-call on Derek Stingley's pass interference pic.twitter.com/2QnV4bFx3n
- Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 28, 2019
Louisianans all even now on semifinal PI calls
- Jason Kirk, Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl CEO (@thejasonkirk) December 28, 2019