CBS Sports Network went to camera in wrong end zone on field goal attempt

Trailing 10-7 late in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Nevada, SMU lined up for a field goal. Kicker Collin Rogers drilled the 52-yard kick, tying the game.

Unfortunately, those watching the CBS Sports Network broadcast of the game likely saw very little of the kick.

The camera initially focused on Rogers and the holder, SMU punter Isaac Pearson. Then, the broadcast went to another camera, this one was behind the end zone. And as Rogers kicked the ball, the camera panned back. All of this is fairly common on a field goal — with one exception.

Usually when a broadcast shifts to that camera, it’s the camera in the end zone the field goal is being kicked toward. That was not what happened on Saturday. The broadcast shifted to the camera — and uprights — in the opposite end zone.

So, when Rodgers kicked the ball, we heard play-by-play Rich Waltz say, “This is 52. Will it get there?” Then, as the camera panned even further back, there was a dramatic pause. Waltz eventually broke the silence with a “Yes.”

It’s Week 0 for everyone, including the production crew. pic.twitter.com/PxdmvUHYSX

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 25, 2024

The kick was ruled good by the officials. By that — and Waltz’s emphatic call — we can safely assume that Rogers made the kick.

Still, it might have been nice to actually see it.

[Photo Credit: CBS Sports Network]