Oklahoma suffered their first true road loss in five years in a stunning upset at Kansas State, but the No. 5 Sooners were a few inches away from pulling off a wild onside kick to keep their comeback hopes alive.
Heisman candidate Jalen Hurts and the Sooners trailed 48-23 with 12:54 remaining in the game, but the Sooners scored back-to-back touchdowns and kicked a field goal with 1:45 remaining to pull within seven points. Needing an onside kick recovery to have any chance of winning, Oklahoma kicker Gabe Brkic hit a beautiful curling kick that ran down the sideline and was ultimately recovered by an Oklahoma player.
The play was initially ruled a recovery by Oklahoma, but officials reviewed the play to determine whether any Oklahoma player made contact with the ball before it traveled 10 yards.
The commentary crew was adamant that the ball ricocheted off an Oklahoma player just shy of the 10-yard mark, but it certainly wasn’t an obvious call. The referee spent an extremely long time reviewing the play before determining he had conclusive evidence that the ball had been illegally touched. The penalty gave Kansas State the ball, and they were able to kneel out the clock for a shocking win.
The replay decision will almost certainly have major College Football Playoff implications, and given the crazy ending to the game, fans were stunned, and the controversial ending is going to be argued about in Oklahoma for the rest of the year.
