Michigan State Lost After A Game-Tying Field Goal Was Called Back For 12 Men On The Field

Michigan State and Arizona State played an absolutely ghastly football game in East Lansing on Saturday afternoon. Ultimately, the Sun Devils were able to pull the upset, taking down the 18th-ranked Spartans, 10-7, to move to 3-0 on the season. It marks the second year in a row that the Fightin’ Herm Edwardses were able to pull off a win against Mark Dantonio and co.

The thing that made this so stunning was how Michigan State lost. The Spartan defense allowed only 216 yards of total offense, with 75 of them coming on Arizona State’s final drive, which ended in a touchdown run by Eno Benjamin.

But Sparty was able to march down the field to get into field goal range on their final possession. The team lined up from 42 yards out, and despite missing his first two kicks on the afternoon, Matt Coghlin absolutely drilled the kick, tying things up and making overtime all but an inevitability.

In the ensuing celebration, a flag emerged, and the officials convened. Following a review, it was determined that the Spartans lined up with 12 men on the field for the kick — an extra lineman took the field, and while it’s not obvious at first, you can count them all on the replay. This led to the ball being moved back five yards and Coghlin kicking again. You absolutely can guess what happened next.

I, for one, feel awful for Coghlin, because boy, does it take some gigantic coaching oversight to not make sure you have only 11 dudes on the field for a game-tying field goal. With the loss, Sparty falls to 2-1 on the year, but no matter how many games they drop this season, it’s hard to imagine one with a more bizarre ending than this.