Fox play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson had a series of moments to forget during the TV broadcast of Ohio State’s win over Indiana on Saturday’s Big Noon Kickoff.
Johnson, the network’s lead college football announcer alongside analyst Joel Klatt, was in the booth for the matchup between the country’s No 5 and No 6-ranked teams.
But he endured a difficult day after whiffing two of the game’s biggest moments, accidentally calling both a touchdown and a field goal incorrectly.
The first mistake came deep in the third quarter when Indiana kicker Nico Radicic had a 55-yard field goal attempt with the Hoosiers 13-7 down in Bloomington.
With the ball flying through the air and looking good, Johnson shouted ‘pure’… before the ball fell short of the posts, leaving the embarrassed play-caller to clear up his mess.
‘No, he missed it,’ Johnson clarifies, adding: ‘Again. The second miss of the day.’
Gus Johnson has long been Fox’s lead play-by-play announcer for college football
Johnson botched the call as Indiana raced downfield in an attempt to score a late touchdown
A clip of the mistake was initially uploaded by an official Fox account on X, as reported by Awful Announcing, before it was taken down amid a wave of criticism from fans.
Unfortunately for the 59-year-old, the incorrect field goal call wasn’t his only mistake of the game. In fact, he made another big error at the most crucial moment, with the game on the line deep in the fourth quarter.
Indiana’s offense was trying to seal a season-defining win with a late drive, down 19-15 with just 1:07 on the clock.
‘Hoover, just throws it up’ came the call from Johnson, with the ball heading into the end zone with Nick Marsh waiting to catch it.
As the receiver hauled in the pass, he stepped out of bounds with his left foot, and none of the officials signaled that a touchdown was being given.
In the booth, though, Johnson didn’t appear to realize and instead screamed ‘TOUCHDOWN’ to his audience of millions.
Marsh was even on screen with his hands on his head as the call was made, before Johnson again had to correct himself.
Despite Nick Marsh putting his hands on his head, Johnson still screamed ‘TOUCHDOWN’
‘No,’ he said a few seconds later, before a replay cleared up once and for all that the Indiana star hadn’t made the catch in-bounds.
On X, fans quickly made their feelings clear, with one writing: ‘Truly awful announcing that game. Hard game to watch, and an even harder game to hear.’
Another added: ‘Gus Johnson has had the saddest example of falling off a cliff. Shell of his former self.’
Others, though, backed the Fox stalwart, with one claiming: ‘To be fair to Gus I don’t think he could have seen feet in from the broadcast booth angle.’
