Down 7-3 to Rutgers with 40 seconds remaining before halftime, the Washington Huskies got the momentum change they were looking for when edge rusher Lance Holtzclaw broke through the protection to block a 38-yard field goal attempt.
That block should’ve given coach Jedd Fisch’s team an opportunity for a two-minute drill drive to at least attempt to get kicker Grady Gross into field goal range. However, as with many crucial plays for Washington this season, there was a flag on the field.
Safety Vincent Holmes was called for an illegal substitution, with the referee explaining that the redshirt freshman ran onto the field while the play was live. A truly unfortunate turn of events for Washington after that call was missed in the team’s season opener against Weber State and caused tight end Quentin Moore to get injured on the play.
On replay, for those watching at home, it wasn’t obvious at first. All the television camera angles showed was the play itself, with 11 men on the field.
Then, when the replay showed the end of the play, Holmes sprinted onto the field, directly in front of the side judge, to celebrate with his teammates well before the play was over. An inexcusable mistake no matter the circumstances, as at the very worst, it takes Holtzclaw’s block off the board and gives kicker Jai Patel another opportunity to extend the lead.
But, since the play took place on fourth down and five, the penalty yardage was enough for a first down. On the very next play, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis threw a 15-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ian Strong to give the Scarlet Knights a 14-3 lead and in a game that the Huskies lost by three points, can be pointed to as the reason they lost.
After the game, Fisch was unhappy to say the least.
“We had a penalty I don’t think I’ve ever seen, coming off the sideline on a blocked field goal and actually getting into the field of play. I’ve seen the celebrations of course. Traditionally, you don’t get right in front of the side judge,” Fisch said. “These are the ones that we have to clean up. We’re continuing to talk about it. We’re clearly going to continue to make it a point of emphasis as we made the offsides and false starts. That’s a disappointment.”
However, the head coach said that he also offered some encouragement to the former four-star recruit.
“I grabbed him and said, ‘You’re a freshman, and you just had a freshman moment. These are things that you’ll learn through your experiences about how you live off.'”