Toledo committed the most bizarre special teams penalty of all-time during Thursday’s college football bowl game against Pittsburgh. A player committed fair catch interference by catching the punt.
To make matters worse, the Rockets had good enough field position to kick a field goal.
The confusing sequence of events took place during the first quarter of the GameAbove Sports Bowl, formally known as the Motor City Bowl. Toledo had 4th-and-10 from the 35-yard-line. It would’ve been a 42ish-yard field goal if head coach Jason Candle elected to kick. Freshman placekicker Dylan Cunanan entered the game with five made field goals from beyond 40 yards. He was 4-of-6 from 40-49 and 1-of-2 from 50+.
However, Cunanan missed three field goals from 45, 26 and 29 during the regular season finale against Akron. Candle must not be able to trust him after the poor performance.
HEARTWARMING HUGS
— Nicole Weaving (@NicoleWeavingTV) November 27, 2024
Tough night for true freshman kicker Dylan Cunanan (0-3 FG) but after the loss, the @ZipsFB's Special Teams unit came over to console him… pic.twitter.com/tGWl33fjDG
Instead of taking the points on Thursday — or, at the very least, attempting to take the points — the Rockets lined up to punt. They even took a delay of game penalty to give their punter more room. It didn’t make a lot of sense. A field goal seemed like the most logical option regardless of the kicker’s recent history. And yet, Toledo punted anyway.
The Panthers’ punt returner called for a fair catch at the 12-yard-line. If that stood, the punt would’ve resulted in 24 yards of field position. However, Rockets cornerback Avery Smith was flagged for fair catch interference after he literally caught the ball as if he was the return man.
Why did he do that? 😭 pic.twitter.com/HXVYlp6G2F
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) December 26, 2024
With the 15-yard penalty, Pittsburgh got the ball at the 30-yard-line. Toledo initially chose not to kick a field goal from the 34. The play yielded four yards of field position and zero points.
There was no way for Candle to know what was about to happen, but his decision to punt proved costly. His opponent got the ball back just four yards away from the original line of scrimmage and scored a touchdown eight plays later!