Controversial Ending in Stillwater Between Texas and Oklahoma State


Mike Gundy

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

It was a thrilling ending that Oklahoma State Cowboys fans will be questioning for the rest of the season and beyond.

Oklahoma State did have a chance to win the game on the final play, a wacky hook-and-ladder oriented scramble that included a pass from quarterback J.W. Walsh to wide receiver Tracy Moore, who threw a nearly 50-yard sideways lateral to Charlie Moore as time expired, only to get run out of bounds.

But many Cowboys fans feel it shouldn’t have come to that, in a game against the 12th ranked Texas Longhorns on Saturday night.

The major controversy occurred on the final Texas drive of the game, where it appeared that running back Joe Bergeron lost possession after the helmet of Oklahoma State’s Alex Elkins jarred the ball loose.  The ball falls straight down where it rests for about one and a half seconds until Cowboys’ safety Daytawion Lowe recovers the ball sitting on the goal line.

The play was reviewed by the replay officials, but the review was over the spot of the ball, not possession.  Had there been a review on possession, it should have come up with a fumble by Bergeron, and a recovery by Lowe marked either at the Oklahoma State one yard line, or a touchback out to the 20.

In the first video, you’ll see that without question there is clearly a fumble.  The video goes on to show in a close up manner that you can see the ball unrecovered in the pile.

Let’s take a look at that second angle at an extended length.  Knowing that the ball is free, and seeing from the first video that it isn’t recovered, we see Lowe make a move at the ball and come away with it pretty quickly.

Cowboy’s head coach Mike Gundy was classy about the incident saying, “They made a play at the end and they happened to make a play when the clock ran out,” Gundy said. “Give them credit.”

Texas coach Mack Brown was elated with his team’s performance.

“The only thing that was important for us tonight was to win,” Brown said. “We needed to go on the road, we needed to win against a team that had beaten us twice in a row, we needed to win against a team that had won more games than anybody in the Big 12 the last two years and we needed to win at a place where they hadn’t lost for the last two years.”

Regardless of the controversy, the win goes to Texas who moves to 4-0 on the season.  Texas next plays at home against the West Virginia Mountaineers.  The loss drops Oklahoma State to 2-2 with their next game on the road in Lawrence against the Kansas Jayhawks.

 

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