No. 3 Oregon should have gotten an interception on No. 2 Ohio State’s first drive of the game.
Will Kacmarek was credited with a sliding 32-yard catch from Will Howard, but Kacmarek never appeared to have control of the ball. As he bobbled the ball, it never hit the ground and Oregon’s Jeffrey Bassa also grabbed it. As the two players briefly wrestled for the ball, Bassa came away with possession.
Take a look at how it unfolded.
Ohio State realized that Kacmarek’s catch may not have been valid, so the Buckeyes rushed to the line of scrimmage to run a rushing play with Quinshon Judkins. That strategy worked. The Big Ten replay center didn’t signal to the officiating crew on the field that the catch needed to be reviewed before Ohio State got the snap off.
Two plays after Judkins’ run, Howard rushed one yard for a touchdown and a 7-0 Ohio State lead.
It’s obvious from the replay reviews that Kacmarek never had control of the ball for a long enough time for the ball to be considered a catch. And since Bassa ended up with the ball and it never hit the ground, it clearly was an interception.
At the least, the play should have been reviewed. And part of that is also on Oregon. The Ducks could have called a timeout to ensure the play was reviewed. Instead, nothing happened, and Ohio State ended up with the opening TD in the first top-three matchup of the 2024 season.