Officials controversially award Michigan possession vs. Iowa after changing incomplete pass to fumble

Michigan stretched out a lead against Iowa in the third quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night with a quick score on a short field following a turnover. But the Hawkeyes took umbrage with how the Wolverines got set up in scoring position to begin with.

With the Hawkeyes on offense deep in their own end, quarterback Deacon Hill was hit in the pocket as he tried to throw. The ball was deflected out of his hand upward and after a few attempts at an interception, fell to the turf where it was ruled incomplete and scooped up by Michigan corner Josh Wallace.

But after a video review, the officials determined the ball was knocked out of Hill’s hand by a blitzing Mike Sainristil, making it a fumble recovered by the defense, setting up the Wolverines in prime position.

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— Lester (@ItsMrNygaard) December 3, 2023

Hawkeyes faithful contended otherwise, as did some of their coaches, and fiercely so.

Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz was apoplectic at the call, getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the review.

The Iowa sideline was not happy about that fumble ruling pic.twitter.com/jNybFSA3Xk

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 3, 2023

And Fox Sports’ rules analyst Dean Blandino thinks Ferentz may have had fair reason to blow his stack.

“Remember, the ruling on the field was a pass. So it has to be clear and obvious that Hill’s hand is not coming forward any amount. I’m not convinced that that hand doesn’t just start to come forward so that’s No. 1. And then as Joel pointed out, the recovery. In the continuing action, you do have officials killing the play, but they’re always going to stretch that out. You can see the Michigan defender recover it. So I’m less concerned with the recovery, I’m just not convinced that the hand wasn’t coming forward.

Michigan went on to secure the league title

The Wolverines claimed their third straight conference title Saturday with a dominant 26-0 win against Iowa that will also secure its spot in the College Football Playoff.

It hasn’t been an easy season for Michigan, with coach Jim Harbaugh missing six games as he served suspensions both for the first and last three games of the regular season. For all the off-field drama, however, the Wolverines remained on of the most dominant teams in all of college football.

That remained the case against the Hawkeyes as Harbaugh made his return to the sidelines. It was a defensive battle, and Michigan came ready to play, forcing three turnovers in the win. The Wolverines also held Iowa to only 155 yards of total offense as the pitched their second shutout of the season.

It wasn’t the biggest day offensively, but quarterback JJ McCarthy did just enough to finish 22-of-30 passing for 147 yards. Running back Blake Corum added a pair of touchdowns.