The first quarter of Auburn’s game against Penn State ended with a [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] interception, but the play never should have happened.
Auburn was driving in Penn State territory when Finley was hit from behind by a Penn State defender and the Nittany Lions picked off his errant throw for the game’s first turnover.
On a second look, the game clock clearly hit zero before Auburn snapped the ball and the play never should have happened.
According to the CBS rules expert, not only was the play reviewable but would have been overturned if it had been reviewed. This was a mistake by both Auburn’s coaching staff in not challenging and the officials for not initiating a review on their own.
Instead of Auburn having 4th down inside Anders Carlson’s field goal range the Nittany Lions took over. Thankfully for Auburn, the Tigers’ defense forced a quick punt and it did not cost them any more.
Here is how the Auburn faithful handled the mistake.