Oklahoma's Joe Mixon drops ball before crossing goal line, gets away with it
After Ohio State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the Sooners responded quickly and emphatically with a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown from running back Joe Mixon.
But it shouldn’t have counted.
As Mixon cruised past down the right sideline past OSU defenders and toward the goal line, he inexplicably dropped the ball just before he entered the end zone. Luckily for Mixon and the Sooners, the refs missed his gaffe and the touchdown stood.
If the ball was dropped and bounced out of bounds through the end zone, it would have resulted in a touchback for Ohio State. It looks like the ball just kind of sat untouched in the end zone. If the play was reviewed, it would have been first-and-goal for the Sooners since nobody ended up hopping on the loose ball.
This is becoming some sort of strange epidemic in college football. Just last week Clemson’s Ray Ray McCloud did the same thing on a long punt return. Except in McCloud’s case, his fumble cost the Tigers a touchdown.
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Utah’s Kaelin Clay also dropped the ball before scoring a few years back vs. Oregon, as did NFL wide receiver Desean Jackson when he played for the Philadelphia Eagles. In Clay’s case, Oregon picked up the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown.
For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
