Video: JMU coaches present cell phone evidence to officials of missed call

One of the funniest scenes of the weekend came during the James Madison and Utah State game on Saturday in a moment that saw Dukes head coach Curt Cignetti borrowing a sideline cell phone of an assistant to prove a point.

What could have possibly sparked James Madison coaches to pull up the cell phone evidence?

It took place after Utah State faked a field goal on fourth and four, down 24-0.

Aggies kicker Elliott Nimrod took a swing pass around the offense's right edge, broke a tackle by an unblocked player, and scampered into the end zone for the team's first points of the night.

However, a closer look reveals that it appears Nimrod stepped out of bounds at least once, and maybe even twice.

Upset with the no call, a JMU coach on the sideline pulls up a zoomed in shot of the kicker stepping out, ready to present it to the officials with some encouragement from those around him.

Sidenote: If there's one thing officials hate more than pointing out a missed call, it certainly has to be being presented with photo or video evidence of the missed call from the sideline by the aggrieved coaching staff.

Head coach Curt Cignetti saw it and felt strongly enough about the evidence to take the phone from his assistants hands and opted to wave it in front of the officiating crew near their sideline, which included the head official.

The sideline official ends up taking the phone from Cignetti's hand with what looks to be a stern warning based on the reaction of everyone in JMU gear on the sideline.

The 18-yard touchdown run would remain on the board, and Cignetti and James Madison would go on to win 45-38 in a game where both offenses combined for over 1,000 yards.

Update >> The Sun Belt has issued a reprimand for Cignetti following the incident.

The James Madison head coach shared the following in a Zoom interview prior to the conference's reprimand:

“It shouldn’t have happened,” Cignetti said. “I was so immersed in the situation I just grabbed the phone. I shouldn’t have done that, and the guy that gave me the phone feels awful about it. But it certainly has gotten a lot of attention.”

The program issued the following statement, "JMU acknowledges the reprimand from the Sun Belt and recognizes the inappropriate action that took place. All individuals involved understand the circumstances, have apologized and genuinely regret that it occurred."