ANN ARBOR, Mich. – There wasn’t much controversy in Michigan football’s win over East Carolina to open the season, but one play that had fans confused was the interception by Josh Wallace that was overturned and ruled incomplete.
The clock had just ticked under 11 minutes in the second quarter when East Carolina quarterback Alex Flinn tried to hit Ryan King down the right sideline. It was a back shoulder throw, but Wallace was in perfect position and took it away from King.
Wallace had both feet in bounds as he came to the ground, and he kept possession of the ball the whole time. It looked like a clear interception. He even rushed over to the sideline and put on the turnover buffs.
But after the media timeout, East Carolina’s offense came back on the field, and the public address announcer broke the news that the play had been overturned. There was no further explanation.
For the 109,000+ fans inside the Big House, it was especially hard to understand what had happened. The referee was having issues with his microphone, from sounding muffled to turning it off to deafening everyone with his whistle.
If you were watching on Peacock, the announcers seemed to having some sort of audio issues, as well. They didn’t say anything until two full plays later, when ECU was getting ready to punt.
It wasn’t until after the game that fans got some clarification, and it’s clear now that the officials made the right call.
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As Wallace and King were both going for the ball, King tipped it while of his both feet were fully out of bounds. That means even though he didn’t make the catch, the play was dead as soon as he touched it illegally.
So Wallace didn’t get an interception in his first game at Michigan, after all. But the Massachusetts transfer still performed well as the team’s No. 1 cornerback with Will Johnson sidelined.
It was a bit of a bad break for Michigan, but considering the leeway J.J. McCarthy got when he threw a touchdown pass while seemingly over the line of scrimmage, I think we can call it even.