Idaho wins game with help from its farkakt stadium

Jesse Spector|published: Sun 28th February, 10:00 2021

The giant wall immediately behind the goalposts should have counted as the 13th man for Idaho, who beat Eastern Washington on Saturday. credits: SWX

You might think that three-time defending champion North Dakota State not only having its 39-game winning streak snapped, but getting blown out, at Southern Illinois, would be the craziest thing to happen on Saturday’s slate of FCS action, but that means you did not consider the Kibbie Dome, the unique stadium at the University of Idaho.

Thanks to the giant walls behind the goalposts, when Eastern Washington’s Seth Harrison kicked a 24-yard field goal, the ball bounced back onto the field, and because the official under the goalpost apparently couldn’t be bothered to look up and see the ball go through the uprights, the kick was ruled no good. With no clear video, even though there’s no physical way from what was visible on the video that the kick wasn’t good, the call stood and the Eagles didn’t get the points.

(The tweet says 22 yards, but the game sheet says 24.)

It’s not like it was a big deal or anything. The game was only tied 21-21 at that point, with 11 minutes left in the game, and the final score was 28-21 Idaho.

Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best could do nothing to argue the call, namely because he wasn’t at the game, having tested positive for COVID-19 this week.