Good defense or pass interference? Analyst questions clutch K-State play at Colorado
Several days have passed since Kansas State pulled off a thrilling 31-28 victory at Colorado, but a prominent college football analyst is still upset about the way the game ended.
FOX color commentator Joel Klatt thinks that K-State defensive back Keenan Garber should have been called for pass interference when he successfully broke up a deep pass from Shedeur Sanders to Will Sheppard on Colorado’s final offensive play of the night with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“That is 100% pass interference,” Klatt said on his weekly podcast. “There’s not a doubt in my mind.”
His argument: Even though Garber was running step for step with Sheppard and correctly turned his head back toward the ball as he tried to make a clutch defensive play, he made contact with Sheppard before the ball reached his hands. In Klatt’s mind, that early contact was worthy of a flag.
“What you need for (defensive pass interference) is a restriction of the ability to catch the football, to make a move on the football,” Klatt said. “It doesn’t matter if the corner had his eyes on the football or not. If he’s making contact before the ball arrives that restricts the ability of the wide receiver to make a play on the football, then that is defensive pass interference, which that was.”
Before we go any further, it is worth pointing out that Klatt is a former Colorado quarterback who played for the Buffaloes from 2002 to 2005. He used the no-call from Saturday’s game to point out how officials across the country lack consistency when calling those plays.
Colorado’s final offensive play of the game on Saturday at Folsom Field was deemed controversial by some, especially Sheppard, who adamantly motioned for a flag to be called, and the home fans.
But Garber gave officials plenty of reasons to signal for an incomplete pass. The K-State senior played tight coverage on Sheppard the whole way and looked back as he tried to make a play on the ball. Replays show that his right arm was hooked around Sheppard’s back before the ball arrived, but that contact didn’t prevent the Colorado receiver from jumping and extending both his arms for the catch.
Garber, who is also entitled to try and make an interception in that situation, knocked the ball out of bounds with his left hand, which clinched the game for the Wildcats.
It’s easy to see why the officials didn’t throw a flag.
K-State fans celebrated a clutch play on defense. Colorado fans booed.
Interestingly, K-State also was on the right side of a pass interference call when it defeated Tulane 34-27 earlier this season. In that game, Tulane fans were furious when a touchdown catch was wiped off the board because of an offensive pass interference flag against Yulkeith Brown late in the fourth quarter.
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall was so upset about the call that he said the officiating “left a lot to be desired” and then pointed out that a Big 12 crew worked the game.
Bottom line: Those plays are subjective, especially at the end of college football games.
No one at K-State is complaining about them right now.