Big 12 apologizes to Oklahoma State for botched call
- The head of Big 12 officials apologized for missed call that cost Oklahoma State a win against Texas
- According to The Oklahoman, the call was botched by the head linesman, who signaled too soon
- The loss dropped Oklahoma State to 2-2 overall while Texas remained undefeated
Update:
The Big 12 released a statement denying The Oklahoman's original report.
"Reports that the Big 12 acknowledged a blown call and issued an apology to Oklahoma State are inaccurate."
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Original Post:
The head of Big 12 football officials "apologized profusely" to Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy for a call that allowed Texas to beat the Cowboys on Saturday, according to a report from The Oklahoman.
Walt Anderson, the Coordinator of Football Officials for the conference, told Gundy that "Texas running back Joe Bergeron did indeed fumble before crossing the goal line and the touchdown call on the field was incorrect."
Per Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman:
"The source said Anderson told Gundy the call was botched by head linesman Brad Edwards, who signaled touchdown too soon without proper view of the ball, which was fumbled before it broke the plane of the end zone. Edwards was originally positioned on the goal line on the UT sideline, then sprinted toward the pile and put his arms in the air."
Oklahoma State held that Bergeron had the ball knocked loose by Oklahoma State linebacker Alex Elkins, and that the fumble was recovered amid a pileup of players from both teams by safety Daytawion Lowe. While the play was reviewed by the replay officials on site – as are all scoring plays in the FBS – it was eventually confirmed as called on the field.
As Mizell notes, Mike Pereira, the officiating expert for FOX Sports, intimated during the game broadcast that "an OSU player would have needed to clearly recover the ball before the scrum for the call to be overturned by replay."
The touchdown came with 29 seconds left in a seesaw, early-season Big 12 pairing between twoteams with BCS aspirations. The score, Bergeron's second of the game, gave Texas a 41-36 lead – supplying the Longhorns with the final margin of victory.
The loss dropped Oklahoma State to 2-2, 0-1 in Big 12 play, while Texas moved to 4-0, 1-0 in the Big 12, in advance of Saturday's game against West Virginia.