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Sean McDonough blasts officials for late penalty, unnecessary roughness in Clemson-Pitt

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly•11/16/24•

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Pittsburgh HC Pat Narduzzi
Barry Reeger | Imagn Images

The Clemson vs. Pitt game had some controversy late in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 17, Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell was hit in the head by Clemson linebacker Dee Crayton as he tried to step up in the pocket.

There was originally no penalty thrown, and Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was irate on the sideline. ESPN broadcaster Sean McDonough criticized the officials for not throwing a flag.

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“I don’t know how they missed that. I mean it’s clear as a bell to everybody in the stadium,” Sean McDonough said of the no-call. “It’s just outrageous that there’s no flag on that play.”

However, after several minutes of discussion, a penalty flag was thrown for unnecessary roughness, leaving Clemson coach Dabo Swinney understandably unhappy.

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McDonough didn’t like the way that was handled, either and referenced the Georgia vs. Texas game from a few weeks back.

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“Yea, after discussion. After we look up and see it on the replay board and realize we missed it, we drop the flag,” McDonough said. “We now have officiating off scoreboards in stadiums.

“You remember how mad Kirby Smart was in a game down at Texas and we have more of the same here.

You can check out the controversial play below:

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy also didn’t understand the way the situation was handled and was stunned a flag wasn’t thrown to start with.

“I just don’t know how you miss that on the field,” McElroy said. “You call one a moment ago against Pitt that was not a foul. And then this time you have forcible contact. I mean they’re lucky, because you already lost one of their linebackers Sammy Brown to targeting. They’re lucky Dee Crayton wasn’t called for targeting there.”

Pitt went on to take the lead with a field goal on the drive. However, Clemson answered right back with a long touchdown run by Cade Klubnik.

The Pitt vs. Clemson game was full of crazy plays and controversy.