Season-altering officiating from South Carolina-LSU labeled one of 2024's worst

South Carolina football fans do not like to think about their favorite team’s 2024 contest against the LSU Tigers. Not only did the Gamecocks fall to the Bayou Bengals, but the loss, ultimately, cost USC a spot in the College Football Playoff, and many who watched the game agree that it shouldn’t have happened at all.

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It came as no surprise, then, that on Tuesday, On3’s Pete Nakos labeled the officiating from that day as one of the worst from the 2024 season. Specifically, Nakos singled out an unnecessary roughness call against Kyle Kennard that erased a Nick Emmanwori 100-yard pick-six. The play would have (likely) put the game out of reach in favor of South Carolina. Thanks to the flag, it now is No. 2 on Nakos’ “Worst officiating calls of the 2024 college football season.” According to Nakos, the penalty was the worst of the 2024 regular season.

For those who aren’t familiar–or whose brains mercifully have blocked out the memory–South Carolina led LSU 33-29 with just over six minutes left in the ball game. With LSU driving, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw an interception to All-American safety Nick Emmanwori. Because of quick pressure from dynamic EDGE duo Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart, Nussmeier could only take a three-step drop and release. Emmanwori disguised his zone coverage and drifted right back into the pass near the goal line. He returned the interception 100 yards for a touchdown that would have put USC up by two scores. During the return, Kennard blocked Nussmeier. The quarterback flopped and then laid unmoving the ground as if he’d been shot. Despite the block being a simple two-handed shove to the chest, flags flew.

You can watch the entire play below.

South Carolina retained possession of the ball after the pick, but the points came off the board. The Gamecocks also were given bad field position at their own 10-yard line. Because of the deep starting point, USC couldn’t score. LSU, though, came down and scored the go-ahead (and eventual winning) touchdown with about one minute left on the clock.

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The flag was a bad one, and it was worth inclusion on Nakos’ list. However, there is a real argument that the call wasn’t even the worst one from that game.

Early in the game, Gamecock quarterback LaNorris Sellers threw an interception in the end zone. Sellers, though, took a blow to the head in the process. The play should have resulted in a roughing the passer penalty, 15 yards, and a first down. Instead, LSU got the football.

On the next drive, a separate South Carolina defensive touchdown disappeared from the scoreboard due to a Kennard penalty. The All-American pass rusher got to Nussmeier and, as he was pulling him down, the LSU quarterback threw the ball. Cornerback O’Donnell Fortune wound up with and returned it to the end zone. However, officials threw flags as Kennard had pulled Nussmeier down by the nameplate. A new rule was put in place ahead of the 2024 season that allowed for a horse collar penalty to be called inside the tackle box, something that was not the case any year prior. Horse collars became a penalty to protect players running away from tacklers, not stationary (or mostly stationary) quarterbacks in the pocket. So, this penalty was probably a “correct” call technically, even if it would not have qualified as such when rule-makers designed the foul.

In the 4th quarter, on the drive before the wiped-off Emmanwori pick-six, the Gamecocks had another opportunity to effectively put the game away. Backup quarterback Robby Ashford–who had replaced an injured Sellers–hit wide receiver Dalevon Campbell for a huge gain. The 43-yard gain would have give Carolina a new set of downs, a good opportunity for more points, and, most importantly, more time to run off the clock. Instead, officials threw a phantom offensive pass interference call against fellow receiver Mazeo Bennett. A defender ran into Bennett while the ball was in flight, but there was no real foul by either team. The penalty, though, backed up USC and killed the drive.

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In a game full of…strange?…officiating, the Emmanwori/Kennard play stands out because of its overall impact. An LSU comeback becomes increasingly unlikely if the play stands without a flag.

However, the impact of that flag went beyond just one game. While it is impossible to know what would have happened if the LSU game had gone differently, in a vacuum, the loss cost the Gamecocks a spot in the new 12-team playoff.

As it stood, South Carolina was one of the four final teams left out of the College Football Playoff field. When the rival Clemson Tigers beat the SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship Game, though, SMU got the nod over Carolina, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Miami. Had the Gamecocks beaten LSU and gone 10-2, many assume Shane Beamer’s team would have earned the nod over SMU, Alabama, Ole Miss, or Miami.

The mark that penalty left on the game against LSU and the season as a whole is why Nakos included it on his list. Only a missed targeting call against Texas in the CFP quarterfinal against Arizona State ranked higher.

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