Throughout the 2024 season, there were few things that were more consistent for the Nebraska football team than playing in front of officiating that seemed to be among the worst in the country. As it turns out, Husker fans weren’t the only ones who seemed to notice this rather odd tidbit.
There were several times this season when bad officiating was in fact, so bad that it was the talk of social media. Earlier this week, the Cornhuskers were even included in a list of the worst officiated calls of the entire 2024 campaign.
The Nebraska football team made On3’s Top 10 list of most egregious officiating calls. The real question was how the Huskers managed to only make the list once. But the call that did make the list was plenty bad, harkening back to the Ohio State game where NU had to waste a timeout after they made a first down on a crucial drive, only to have the referees mark running back Dante Dowdell short and not bother to review the call.
10. Nebraska's run was spotted incorrectly vs. Ohio State, forced to use timeout
— On3 (@On3sports) February 18, 2025
(via @BenScottStevens, @FOXSports) https://t.co/gsNdJu8jwR pic.twitter.com/SYy104IWYt
Nebraska football’s ‘worst spot in history’ among worst calls of 2024
Billed as the “worst spot in history” when it happened, the Huskers were going for a first down in an attempt to rally and beat what would eventually be the National Champion.
On the run, Instead of marking where Dowdell had it when he was tackled, well past the line to gain, they marked it closer to where a Nebraska offensive lineman had fallen down, about two yards back.
It was an egregious call. Stunningly bad especially because the referees didn’t have any idea who they were even marking down. And now, On3 has memorialized it as one of the worst officiating calls of the season.
Will this change anything? Will Nebraska football help spark better officiating? Probably not. But one can hope, because it doesn’t feel like the work of Big Ten officials could get much worse.