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Intentional grounding in the end zone leads to a safety and an Iowa State win over Texas Tech

nick bromberg
College football and motorsports writer

Alan Bowman will know from now on that he can’t simply throw the ball away to avoid a sack.

With Texas Tech tied 31-31 with Iowa State with 4:45 left in the game, the Red Raiders quarterback dropped the snap. As a defender chased him, Bowman fled backward into his own end zone before flinging the ball towards the right sideline.

While Bowman had escaped the pocket, the ball got nowhere near the line of scrimmage. And since Bowman was in the end zone, the intentional-grounding penalty resulted in a safety and a 33-31 lead for Iowa State.

Gotta get the ball across the line of scrimmage. (via ESPN)
Gotta get the ball across the line of scrimmage. (via ESPN)

He knew what he had done right after he threw the ball too.

Alan Bowman reacts to his penalty. (via ESPN)
Alan Bowman reacts to his penalty. (via ESPN)

The Cyclones then got a touchdown from Hakeem Butler after Texas Tech kicked off for the winning margin in a 40-31 win.

The loss is crushing for Texas Tech’s Big 12 title hopes. A win in Ames would have moved Tech to 4-1 in the conference with home games remaining against both Oklahoma and Texas over the next two weeks. While Tech, at 3-2, still has an outside chance at making the conference title game, its chances are worse than they would have been without Saturday’s loss.

It’s far from a guarantee Tech would have won without Bowman’s penalty, so while the safety directly led to Iowa State’s win, the Cyclones (4-3, 3-2) may have won without it. The fourth quarter had become a battle of punting and Tech could have easily given the ball back to Iowa State with decent field position for a winning field goal.

Iowa State freshman quarterback Brock Purdy was 13-of-27 for 240 yards and two scores. The Cyclones are now 3-0 when he plays. He came in against Oklahoma State and led the Cyclones to an upset and was spectacular in ISU’s win over then-No. 6 West Virginia a week ago.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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