Orange Bowl interception controversy: Why did refs nullify ND linebacker Jack Kiser's interception?

The Orange Bowl between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Penn State Nittany Lions was played close throughout. And it saw a controversial interception call when the game was still very much in the balance.

With less than nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 17, Penn State had the ball at the Notre Dame 24-yard line. Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar made a terrible decision with his pass as he attempted to throw the football to tight end Tyler Warren. The issue was the fact that Warren was covered by multiple defenders and the pass was intercepted by linebacker Jack Kiser.

However, the flag was thrown as the referees called Irish defensive back Adon Shuler for pass interference. That negated the interception and gave the Nittany Lions a fresh set of downs at the nine-yard line.

The Nittany Lions would score the touchdown through running back Nicolas Singleton on that drive and take the lead, 24-17.

Was the Orange Bowl interception controversy the right call?

The Orange Bowl interception controversy could have changed the outcome of the game. However, the call appeared to look like the right one as based on the replay, Adon Shuler made contact with Tyler Warren before the ball was in his hands, meaning the pass interference call was indeed the correct call. As such, Jack Kiser's interception was nullified.

While the call happened on a play where Drew Allar made a bone-headed decision, the referees had to throw the flag at the end of the day as there was by definition pass interference on the play.

While it is nice to call it the Orange Bowl interception controversy, there was no controversy, just a bad decision by Allar with a pass that got bailed out by a penalty.

Luckily for the Fighting Irish, they were able to recover and secure a win as kicker Mitch Jeter nailed the game-winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining to seal a 27-24 victory and a trip to the national championship game.