STILLWATER, Okla. -- The officiating mistake was a doozy. The play that followed was even more astonishing.
One of the oddest endings imaginable left Oklahoma State stunned and Central Michigan celebrating.
A misinterpreted rule extended the game when it should have been over and allowed the Chippewas to score a wild, winning touchdown on a Hail Mary and lateral that covered half the field for a 30-27 upset of No. 22 Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State (1-1) tried to kill the final four seconds of the game by throwing the ball away on fourth down, but the Cowboys were penalized for intentional grounding, which is a loss of down penalty. Rules state that the game cannot end on an accepted live-ball penalty, referee Tim O'Dey of the Mid-American Conference, CMU's league, said.
But he later admitted there was a situation where the game can end.
"There's an exception to the rule that says if enforcement of the foul involves a loss of down, then that brings the game to an end," O'Dey told a pool reporter.
O'Dey said after conferring with NCAA rules committee secretary Rogers Redding after the game, the crew determined the "extension should not have happened."
But the final result stood. Article 3b of the NCAA rulebook states: When the referee declares that the game is ended, the score is final.
"Despite the error, this will not change the outcome of the contest," Bill Carollo, the NCAA's coordinator of football officials, said in a statement released by the MAC.
That did not satisfy Oklahoma State Athletic Director Mike Holder.
"We had conversations with everyone that could help us understand the situation and do something about the outcome. We were told the result is final and there is nothing we can do about it," Holder said in a statement. "In my mind, it is incomprehensible that a misapplication of the rules after time has expired can't be corrected."
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a text: "The game is final and errors can only be corrected during the course of the game. Very unfortunate."
Corey Willis scored the winning touchdown after grabbing a lateral from Jesse Kroll at the Oklahoma State 12 and fighting his way into the end zone.
Oklahoma State (1-1) thought it had won when Mason Rudolph threw the ball away on fourth down as the clock expired, instead of just taking a knee and risking giving the ball back to Central Michigan (2-0). But it backfired after the officials conferred. They assessed an intentional grounding penalty and gave Central Michigan another play.
"That's a tough one. Just so everyone knows, I was the one who called the passing play," OSU Coach Mike Gundy said. "To be honest with you, I never even thought of intentional grounding being called at that point in the game. As much time as we put into end of game situations that never really crossed my mind. Unfortunately, that's a difficult way to learn a hard lesson."
Cooper Rush lofted up a Hail Mary pass that hit Kroll just inside the 10. As Kroll was being taken down, he pitched it back to Willis at the 12, and he cut across the field and barely managed to score while being dragged down.
"To be honest, I actually had a missed assignment on that, I wasn't supposed to be right there, but it all worked for the better," Willis said.
In other games involving Big 12 teams, Skyler Howard tied a career-high with five touchdown passes, leading West Virginia to a 38-21 victory over Youngstown State in Morgantown, W. Va. ... Greg Windham threw for 167 yards and a touchdown, ran for 146 yards and another score, and led Ohio to a 37-21 victory over mistake-prone Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. ... Seth Russell threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, and Baylor recovered from a slow start to rout SMU, 40-13, in Waco, Texas. ... Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns and No. 11 Texas backed up its first national ranking since 2013 with a 41-7 victory over UTEP in Austin, Texas. ... Baker Mayfield passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a half of work, and No. 14 Oklahoma beat Louisiana-Monroe 59-17 in a warmup for its showdown with Ohio State.
Sports on 09/11/2016