Big 12 apologizes for KSU-OSU mistake, misspells 'accuracy' in statement
The Big 12 is not having a good week.
The conference issued a statement Sunday afternoon apologizing for an officiating gaffe during Saturday's game between Kansas State and Oklahoma State. The down-and-distance was improperly adjusted during a second-quarter sequence for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were given a first down on third down after a completion that was four yards short of the original line to gain.
Oklahoma State scored a touchdown four plays later and eventually won the game 36-34.
Here's the Big 12's statement in its entirety.
Big 12 Conference supervisor of officials Walt Anderson acknowledges improper first-down distance enforcement occurred during Saturday's K-State at Oklahoma State game. During the second-quarter, with the ball at the K-State 45, OSU was flagged for offensive holding during a 41-yard pass completion. After the 10-yard penalty was marked off, moving the ball back to the OSU 45, the chains were mistakingly set for the yard-to-gain.
"Accurracy and adherence to Conference policies and officiating mechanics are vital to the proper administration of the rules in all games," said Anderson. "Disciplinary actions will be addressed with both the field officials and chain crew."
Yes, the conference misspelled the word "accuracy" in addition to mistakenly. Quite ironic, don't you think?
The Big 12 also released a statement last week where Anderson said his crew got the vast majority of the calls right in the game between Texas and Oklahoma State in Week 4. The same crew that officiated that game officiated the game between Oklahoma and West Virginia on Saturday. The WVU-OU game had more than 20 penalties.
The downs mistake in Stillwater also came 25 years to the week after Big 8 officials made one of the most famous screwups in college football history. On October 6, 1990, Colorado was given a fifth down against Missouri on a game-winning drive. The Buffaloes, who were No. 1 at the time, avoided the upset and claim a shared national title with Georgia Tech.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
