It happened a few minutes into the first quarter with the game still scoreless. Mayden was chased nearly 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage with two Ohio defenders chasing him. He tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, but unfortunately the official happened to be right in the path of the football and was not fast enough to get out of the way. The ball hit the referee right smack in the middle of his face.
Ouch 😳
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 26, 2023
The ref just got hit directly in the face by the ball 😅 pic.twitter.com/lCTFN2sM3j
Now that had to hurt. Talk about dumb luck. We hope the referee is OK.
Taking a look at the play aired on television, it almost looks like Mayden could have been called for intentional grounding, but no penalty was called as tight end Jay Rudolph was in the direction of the throw (taking into account where the ball would have gone had it not hit the referee smack in the face).
Mayden managed to lead the Aztecs to a field goal on the drive and open the scoring. He finished with 164 yards passing and two touchdowns for the game to lead San Diego State to a 20-13 win. Hopefully Mayden will be more careful with his throws as the season progresses.
[FTW]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
