You never want to chalk a loss up to the referees, but South Carolina has an excuse Saturday after a dreadful display of officiating, much of it seemingly one-sided.
Do Gamecocks fans have a point about poor officiating after a heartbreaking 36-33 loss to LSU?
Did the Referees Cost South Carolina a Win?
First, unless you’re talking about a single blown call on the final play of a game — much like the Arkansas State-Central Arkansas game in Week 1 — referees don’t cost a team a game.
However, they can have a huge influence, and that’s where South Carolina has a legitimate reason for protest.
Saturday against LSU, South Carolina had 14 points wiped off the board and numerous other calls that took the momentum away or completely changed the complexion of the game.
We’ll break down the good, the bad, and the ugly here.
The Good: What Did the LSU vs. South Carolina Referees Get Right?
There are a few calls that went against South Carolina that were absolutely the correct call, and several more that were incorrect.
First, the Gamecocks had two pick-sixes wiped off the board by penalties. By my estimation, both were the correct calls.
On LSU’s first offensive play, Garrett Nussmeier was bailed out by a horse-collar tackle before the throw.
Last year, that would have been allowed, as it was inside the tackle box. However, a rule change this year made it so horse-collar tackles are flags no matter where they occur. It was unfortunate for the Gamecocks but ultimately correct.
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Later, South Carolina looked to have sealed the game after a 101-yard pick-six. However, an unnecessary roughness penalty on the return brought the ball back to South Carolina’s 10-yard line.
Kyle Kennard shoved quarterback Garrett Nussmeier on the return. It probably isn’t called if Nussmeier played receiver, but the referees are always going to protect quarterbacks.
Lastly, a controversial overturned incomplete pass at the two-minute timeout wasn’t all that controversial.
Kyren Lacy got two feet in bounds and made a football move before losing control well after he was out of bounds. It’s weird that the officials didn’t get that right on the field, as it was an obvious catch.
The Bad: What Controversial Calls Did the LSU vs. South Carolina Referees Make (or Not Make)?
South Carolina’s defensive front lived in LSU’s backfield, but while the Tigers struggled up front to handle the Gamecocks’ front seven, the LSU offense was only called for two live-play penalties.
This came despite the Gamecocks’ front complaining all game about being held. On LSU’s penultimate touchdown, center DJ Chester appeared to have a South Carolina defender in a headlock.
Earlier in the game, LSU had two key stops in or near the red zone. On the first, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers was hit in the head by a defender’s forearm, turning his helmet in the process. There was no call as the Tigers picked off a pass in the end zone.
Soon after, an LSU defender seemed to hit wide receiver Jared Brown early, something even announcer Kirk Herbstreit pointed out.
Those are subjective calls that could go either way.
On their own, they’d be harmless. On the whole of the day, though, they loom larger, given a few of the worse decisions.
The Ugly: Did the Referees Hose South Carolina?
Those calls, in particular, really loomed large in a close game. Two caused the announcers to openly question them, while one was flat-out incorrect, per the rulebook.
First, the two most questionable calls.
There’s no doubt South Carolina’s offense struggled in the second half after Sellers left with an injury, and the Gamecocks struggled to get anything through the air.
South Carolina got called for offensive pass interference twice on successful passes. There’s only one problem — each time, there was no contact whatsoever. Even worse, the number called each time was clearly not the correct number.
The first time, backup quarterback Robbie Ashford was called for pass interference, except he was on the bench.
The second was on South Carolina’s first explosive pass of the second half. This was truly one of the worst calls I’ve ever witnessed.
Ashford heaved downfield to a blanketed Dalevon Campbell, who made a tremendous catch while being interfered with. Herbstreit commented on the fact that Campbell made the catch despite interference from the defender, which the referees were about to call.
The referees indeed called pass interference, but not on LSU. Instead, South Carolina’s Mazeo Bennett was called for offensive pass interference. Bennett did not touch any defender until the defender engaged him after the pass was caught. Both Herbstreit and Chris Fowler spent the next three minutes trying to find the penalty, wondering aloud if the referees said the wrong number before the cameras watched each receiver individually.
Both Fowler and Herbstreit called the decision that turned a 43-yard gain into a 15-yard penalty “plain wrong.”
The next play, when there was a question about a potential late hit, Herbstreit made his feelings known.
“South Carolina fans are mad they didn’t get a flag there, and after the referees missed that last play, I don’t blame them,” Herbstreit quipped.
Fortunately for South Carolina, that missed call didn’t end the game, and the Gamecocks still had a four-point lead.
What happened next can’t happen in a major college football game.
LSU faced fourth-and-3 at the South Carolina 38. Nussmeier, who was sensational all game, went with a hard count and got South Carolina to jump.
As he took his free play, Nussmeier tried to hit Lacy down the sideline. Lacy stepped out, as called by the referee, who threw his hat, a clear sign that Lacy would be called for illegal touching.
The referees called a very clear incomplete pass a catch on the field. As it went to replay, the illegal touching was never addressed. The referees eventually overturned the call and gave LSU the first down via penalty.
It was another example of the referees just never having a full grasp of the game.
Did the Missed Calls Cost South Carolina the Game?
On the one hand, South Carolina can blame the drops, bad (correctly called) penalties on interceptions, and a lack of a second half downfield passing game for its loss.
On the other hand, controversial or simply blown calls took 14 points off the scoreboard for South Carolina.
On a day when the Gamecocks only had 155 passing yards, controversial penalties wiped off an extra 81 passing yards.
The Gamecocks had legitimate arguments that penalties were not called on two Tigers touchdowns, a Sellers interception, and a key third down in the red zone, while LSU seemed to get every call in similar situations.
You can never fully blame referees for a game a team lost after missing a potential game-tying field goal, but there’s a feeling around Columbia that all South Carolina would have to do to be 3-0 after Week 3 would be to have a “G” or script “A” on its helmets.
What was a promising season for South Carolina still has potential, but the difference between 3-0 and 2-1 is noticeable, and the Gamecocks took a gut punch against LSU.
That, at least somewhat, has to be attributed to the guys in black and white.
In 2024, that’s a real shame.
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