NCAABy Matt Clapp on

The No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions had 3rd-and-11 turned into 4th-and-11 due to officials losing track of downs on Saturday night against No. 22 Auburn. And because of that mistake, Penn State punted, on what was — in reality — third down.

First, here’s how the sequence looked on gamecasts, and we’ll follow that up with a video breakdown:

On 1st-and-10, Penn State threw an incomplete pass downfield, and the officials added a (questionable) intentional grounding call to go with it.

That made it 2nd-and-16, and the Nittany Lions proceeded to gain five yards.

So we’re at 3rd-and-11, but the officials said it 4th-and-11. Somehow, everybody just carried on like nothing was wrong, and Penn State punted.

When the game returned from commercial break, ESPN color commentator Kirk Herbstreit correctly said, “I think [Penn State] may have punted on third down.”

That’s a rough gaffe by the officiating crew.

Here’s how James Franklin responded to it during his halftime interview:

[Photo Credit: ABC/ESPN]

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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