PGA Tour Monday qualifier gets candid about the refs in Ohio State vs. Oregon Football game

PGA Tour Monday Qualifier Neil Shipley got candid about a controversial situation that took place during the recent NCAA football game between Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks. Oregon's move in the last few seconds led to their win over the Buckeyes on Saturday, October 12.

Neil Shipley, who turned professional a few months ago, is competing at the Shriners Children's Open this week. On Thursday, October 17, he carded 2-under after 16 holes before play was stopped due to darkness. Besides being a golfer, he is also an Ohio State Buckeye football fan and ardently follows their games.

During the first round, Shipley gave a walk-in interview to NBC Sports' George Savaricas. In the interview, he got candid about the recent controversial decision that led to Ohio State's loss against Oregon.

"You know, it was an unfortunate offensive PI late in the game," he said. "And they've got a really talented team. I know Will Howard pretty well. We're in the same Bible study, and he's a great guy, great leader, and I have a lot of faith in him."

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Ohio State vs. Oregon Football game controversy explained

Last week, the Oregon Ducks recorded a close 32-31 win against the Ohio State Buckeyes. However, in the last few seconds, they made a controversial move that ensured their victory.

With just 10 seconds remaining in the game, the Buckeyes were driving to get within range for a potential game-winning field goal. However, at that point, Oregon called a timeout. Following the timeout, they sent 12 defenders onto the field for the third-down play, leading to an incomplete pass. At this point, only six seconds remained in the game.

For the uninitiated, unlike the NFL, the NCAA doesn't reset the clock during a 12-man penalty. Taking advantage of this loophole, Oregon ensured they didn’t concede another field goal. However, their move received a lot of criticism from fans.

Later, when Oregon's coach Dan Lanning was asked about the penalty, he didn’t openly admit to exploiting the loophole but responded with a smirk.

"There was a timeout before that... we spend an inordinate amount of time on situations," he said, as per Yahoo Sports. "There’s some situations that don’t show up very often in college football but this is one that obviously was something we had worked on. So you can see the result."

Oregon is currently second in the table while Ohio State has slipped to fifth after the game.