The Big Ten Conference told Gophers head coach PJ Fleck that the offside calls against Minnesota in Saturday’s 27-24 loss to Michigan were “too close to call,” and the conference has its way adjusted how the officials will be positioned at these games in the future.

A conference spokesman shared a statement with the Pioneer Press: “Effective immediately, the Big Ten has received approval from the NCAA to implement modified referee mechanics … on onside kicks by positioning the linesman and head linesman on the kicking team’s backing line. “This puts multiple officers in the best position to always make the right judgment.”

Current mechanics require the referee on scrimmage plays to move from his regular spot behind the linebackers to the kicking team’s backing line during onside kicks. The back referee, often located behind the secondary, is mirrored on the other sideline during onside kicks. On Saturday, referee Keith Vaverchak threw the game-winning flag to Gophers special teams player Matt Kingsbury with 1:37 left in the Little Brown Jug game at Michigan Stadium.

Gophers coach PJ Fleck said the game was submitted to the Big Ten official coordinator for review. “We thank the Big Ten Conference for recognizing the need to make this change to ensure accurate calls going forward,” Fleck said in a statement.

Under the previous mechanic for onside kicks, the linemen – who, as the name suggests, straddle the line on all plays from scrimmage – were aligned with the receiving team’s backing line, not the kicking team’s backing line. They are the best way to determine if a player is offside, as they look for it on every snap in more than 100 plays from scrimmage per game.

That finer point might be seen as too much of a murky issue for some, but in a close Big Ten Conference game, a lot was riding on the decision.

While the Gophers still would have had to score a touchdown to prevent a non-regular-season upset of the Wolverines, the penalty could have a lasting impact on whether the Gophers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten ) reach bowl eligibility in November. If the flag had not been raised and the U’s comeback completed, the result would have significantly hurt No. 10 Michigan (4-1, 2-0)’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff in December.

Offside decisions on onside kicks cannot be reviewed, and the conference did not say whether that might change in the future. If that were possible Saturday, a Gopher player could have been flagged for blocking before the kick traveled 10 yards. That might have ruined the game too.

During his press conference Monday morning, Gophers coach PJ Fleck said he had a conversation with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and officials and expected news Monday afternoon.

Then later Monday morning, Fleck told the Pioneer Press that he would not be a “BCD.”

“I will never blame, complain or deflect,” Fleck said. “Never. There is ABCD. BCD are not very good. “A” is about accountability. All I can control is the responsibility I have as a head coach to make my football team better so it doesn’t stop a game arrives.”

But a decision by the official who wears a “U” on his jersey had an outsized impact on a (pretty important) play — so big that the conference changed the way it will handle those plays going forward.