Auburn football is supposed to make short work of UCF in the Peach Bowl but so far the officials have already cost the Tigers a touchdown.
More: Complete 2017-2018 bowl schedule
Auburn came within one game of becoming the first 2-loss team to reach the College Football Playoff. After downing Georgia and Alabama in the regular season the Tigers fell in the SEC Championship Game to Georgia. That sent the Bulldogs to the Rose Bowl as the Tigers received a berth in the Chic-fil-A Peach Bowl as their consolation prize. Undefeated Group of 5 front-runner UCF earned the other bid.
The Peach Bowl was marked by a relatively slow start from both teams on New Year’s Day. Each side traded punts before UCF made what should have been a costly mistake.
UCF Quarterback McKenzie Milton fumbled the snap and put the ball on the turf. Deshaun Davis alertly made sure his knees were not on the ground when he scooped the ball up and sprinted down the field. The officials blew the whistle. Davis was never touched down by Milton and he was clearly not touching the ground himself. See for yourself:
Replay shows Auburn should’ve had a TD on the fumble recovery, play was whistled dead on field. @RedditCFB pic.twitter.com/LiaXsHfGuq
— CFB Gif'er (@CFBgifer) January 1, 2018
Auburn would drive down the field and settle for a field goal. That four point swing doesn’t look to be substantial early on, but the Knights are well-known for their explosive offense. UCF has more to play for in this game than Auburn which should encourage the Tigers to get their Group of 5 challenger out of striking distance as quickly as possible.
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UCF head coach Scott Frost would love nothing more than a win in his final game with the Knights. The Nebraska alum has already accepted the Huskers’ head coaching job but stuck around to coach UCF’s final game. It’s not going to be easy, but his team already got a big break.
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