ESPN play-by-play announcer Anish Shroff couldn’t hide his surprise Friday night after a player made a terrible decision during the Liberty Bowl.
Arkansas punted the ball from around midfield early in the fourth quarter. The ball appeared headed into the end zone, but Texas Tech punt returner Jordan Brown signaled for a fair catch and caught the ball near the goal line.
“Brown makes the fair catch — why? I don’t know,” Shroff said, the surprise evident in his voice. “It’s going to pin the Red Raiders at the two-yard line. A special teams blunder.
“We said it earlier in the broadcast, when you have so many moving parts with the portal and opt-outs and your personnel changes … that affects, sometimes you see it the most on special teams, and Brown knew it — you don’t call for a fair catch inside the five.”
Color analyst Andre Ware concurred.
“The 10-yard line’s your marker. And if it goes over your head at the 10-yard line, you let it go into the end zone,” Ware said.
Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, the “special teams blunder” led Arkansas to score a safety two plays later.
“Brown makes the fair catch – why? I don’t know.”
Anish Shroff on the call for the “special teams blunder.” https://t.co/3ogA9UZXjQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 28, 2024
When a play-by-play announcer takes an incredulous “What is he doing?” tone during a play, before the color analyst can even chime in, you know the player in question is going to get chewed out for his blunder.
[ESPN]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.