Big Ten switches management of onside kicks to Minnesota-Mich. End

After the controversial offside penalty at the end of Saturday's game between Minnesota and Michigan, the Big Ten is changing the way it administers onside kicks.

The league's refereeing teams will now position the linesman and head lineman on the kicking team's retention line, “putting multiple officials in the best position to consistently make the correct judgment,” the Big Ten said in a statement. The move to acting mechanic was approved by the NCAA.

Minnesota trailed Michigan 27-24 after a furious rally with 1:37 left in Saturday's game, and Matt Kingsbury appeared to successfully recover an onside kick. But the officials ruled that Kingsbury was offside and forced a rebound that was restarted by Michigan, running out of time to win the game. The Big Ten did not admit in its statement that the call was false.

“We have submitted the game to the Big Ten official coordinator for review,” Minnesota coach PJ Fleck said in a statement, referring to Bill Carollo. “The coordinator told us the game was too close to stop. We thank the Big Ten Conference for recognizing the need for this change to ensure accurate decisions going forward.”

The Big Ten noted in its statement that offside penalties cannot be reviewed through replay.

Acting FOX analyst Mike Pereira and analyst Chris Petersen both questioned the ruling.

“I’m sick to my stomach right now,” said Petersen, the former Boise State and Washington coach. “I just hate to see the officials make things up. Like I don't know why they would fly that flag. For me these are always close decisions, the ball has been kicked. … What do we do? Let the children play.