In his showcase bowl game before being poked, prodded and unceasingly evaluated by NFL personnel men, Mitch Trubisky struggled in the first half.
Already in a three-point hole with a bad interception to his credit, Trubisky turned the ball over for a second time as he scrambled late in the second quarter. Looking for a running lane, the redshirt junior wasn’t exactly holding the ball tight to his chest, which led to a bump with a ref that resulted in a lost fumble.
Quality defensive play by the official in forcing the fumble: pic.twitter.com/tf7SaNuw8O
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) December 30, 2016
Ref out here making plays with the forced fumble https://t.co/z3dVWBUetD
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) December 30, 2016
While there’s no way Trubisky could have predicted he’d be stripped by the official on the field, he wasn’t doing a good job covering the ball in the first place.
This turnover put the Stanford Cardinal in scoring range. After his interception was mercifully consequence free on the scoreboard (missed field goal), the fumble turned into three points after Stanford knocked in a short field goal to take a six-point lead, 13-7 right before the end of the half.