Cotton Bowl refs somehow missed most obvious PI call ever for the Canes

The referees have let both sides play in the Cotton Bowl, and the flags have been minimal. As a matter of fact, the only flag was a defensive holding call against the Hurricanes that was declined on a touchdown catch by Jeremiah Smith.

But in the process of letting them play, the officials missed a very obvious pass interference call on Buckeyes' cornerback Devin Sanchez, who was covering CJ Daniels on a deep pass from Carson Beck.

Sanchez and Daniels were hand fighting down the field and fighting for position, but with the ball in the air, the defender went full hands on Daniels and he was unable to fight through it to make the catch.

ESPN color analyst Dusty Dvorcek initially liked the no call.

"I like the no call," Dvorcek said. "Both these guys are jocking for positon."

But with the replay clearly showed that Sanchez stopped playing the ball and hugged the received, ESPN replay analyst Matt Austin stepped in with some necessary perspective. 

"If you're not playing the ball and you wrap your arms around the guy and the ball hits ypu in the back, that should probably draw a flag," Austin said.

ESPN play-by-play man Dave Pasch agreed.

"They missed one there for sure," Pasch said. "They've been letting them play all night."

The first down no-call, and a negative-yard running play left the Hurricanes with a 3rd-anf-12, but Beck got the first down with a 13-yard gain. Miami did not get another first down on the drive and was forced to punt, but in a tight ball game, every second matters, and just moving the sticks one time was significant. 

Since then, the officials have been a little more active, calling two penalties on the Buckeyes — an offensive holding and an illegal formation on a punt.

It's good that the referees haven't been a factor, but they also have to realize they have a job to do.