Wild half of ejections and injuries for Northwestern at Music City Bowl
by Teddy GreensteinContact Reporter. fans of both Northwestern and Kentucky might be looking for pitchforks at halftime after this Pac-12 officiating crew enraged both sides in the Music City Bowl.
Northwestern leads 17-7, but the takeaways are a huge injury and two controversial ejections.
Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson got carted off after making a catch on a trick play. Thorson immediately grabbed his right knee and was replaced by fifth-year senior Matt Alviti.
NU's best defensive player, linebacker Paddy Fisher, got ejected for targeting with 22 seconds left in the half. Kentucky lost its best player to an even more questionable disqualification. Running back Benny Snell got tossed for making contact with an official.
But it appeared that all Snell did was reject an official's effort to help him to his feet.
Kentucky fans howled again after NU defensive end Joe Gaziano tackled quarterback Stephen Johnson well out of bounds. The Kentucky bench got an unsportsmanlike penalty, pushing its offense out of field-goal range.
Johnson was seen hollering at the officials as he headed to the locker room before halftime.
Backup Drew Barker replaced him for UK's final series and hit Sihiem King for a short completion. When King leapt, Fisher drilled him in the chest. NU's All-Big Ten linebacker appeared to lead with his helmet, prompting the ejection.
NU coach Pat Fitzgerald didn't see it that way, telling WGN-AM 720: "It might be the worst call I have ever seen in the history of college football. Fisher also was ejected for targeting against Penn State.
On top of that, NU lost top receiver Bennett Skowronek after he landed on his head on a tackle.
Justin Jackson scored his 40th and 41st career rushing touchdowns, and Alviti looked solid replacing Thorson. Alviti rushed for 17 yards and completed a 28-yard pass to Charlie Fessler.
Thorson got injured on a trick play, the type NU rarely tries. Jeremy Larkin took a handoff and fired across the field to Thorson, who made the 24-yard catch before getting tackled by linebacker Jordan Jones. tgreenstein@chicagotribune. com.
Injuries, ejections and penalties the story of the first half of Music City Bowl.
Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson was taken off the field for further medical examination after appearing to injure his right leg on a trick play. Not long after that, an official tossed Kentucky running back Benny Snell Jr.
from the game after making contact with an official. It's been quite a first half in the Music City Bowl, where Northwestern leads Kentucky by a score of 17-7 at the half.
After Thorson hauled in a pass from Jeremy Larkin, Thorson appeared to injure his right leg before contact was made by the nearby Kentucky defender.
The 23-yard gain was the result of a brilliant play call from the Northwestern sideline, but the loss of starting quarterback put the game on pause for a few moments before play resumed after Thorson was carted off.
Justin Jackson scored a touchdown on a five-yard run shortly after the Thorson injury. The run gave Northwestern a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Earlier in the drive, Jackson became the 10th all-time leading rusher in college football history, passing Damion Fletcher of Southern Miss and Anthony Thompson of Indiana to move to No. 10 among FBS players.
Jackson would add a second touchdown later in the second quarter to extend the Northwestern lead to 17-7. Matt Alviti came in to play quarterback for the Northwestern Wildcats.
On the ensuing possession, Kentucky's top running back was ejected from the game after making contact with an official. The call, however, has left many wondering if the ref went a tad overboard with his decision.
You decide for yourself if Snell should have been ejected for this?.
The ref show once again popped up late in the second half when Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops and the Kentucky sideline appeared to want a late hit out of bounds call against Northwestern when quarterback Stephen Johnson was taken down on the sideline.
No flag was called, until a ref decided to throw one on the Kentucky sideline for unsportsmanlike conduct. Johnson was taken off the field for possible medical attention, and he was seen jawing at a ref on his way off the field.
The officials didn't just have all of their controversial calls on the Kentucky side.
Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher was tossed from the game late in the first half for targeting, although it was one of many very questionable targeting calls we have seen in college football.
It has not been a great day for this officiating crew, to say the least.
As the Music City Bowl goes to the second half, it is still up for grabs between the Wildcats of the Big Ten and SEC, if there are enough players to actually finish this game.
Kentucky is looking for their first bowl victory since 2008. Northwestern is looking for back-to-back bowl wins.
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