Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State football player Mike Gundy expresses his dissatisfaction with SEC officials
STILLWATER — Following the Oklahoma State football team’s 39-31 double-overtime victory over Arkansas on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, head coach Mike Gundy expressed displeasure with a ruling made by the Southeastern Conference officiating crew that negated the Cowboys’ chance to run out the clock.
As opposed to Arkansas getting called for offsides, OSU was called for illegal motion on a play that Gundy claims his team has run numerous times. If the play had been overturned against Arkansas, OSU would have gained a first down. Since Arkansas was out of timeouts, the Pokes could have used almost all of the final 59 seconds to win the lead before attempting a field goal.
Rather, OSU was forced to attempt a field goal on the subsequent play, giving Arkansas 55 seconds to advance the ball down the field in order to force OT.
That group is SEC, according to Gundy. This is nothing new for us. We practiced it all preseason long in scrimmages against Big 12 teams, but it went uncalled. As the head of officiating, Steve Shaw must make the necessary corrections. He must gather them all into a single room and enforce uniformity (rules) among them. That’s how I interpret it.
Shaw was the head of SEC officiating before becoming the national coordinator for college football officials.
As part of OSU and Arkansas’s game deal, the crew was from the SEC. The return game between OSU and Arkansas in 2027 will be officiated by Big 12 officials.
Gundy requested a definitive decision on the play, stating that the inconsistent calling of the play was what most disturbed him.
To avoid problems like those, Gundy believed that all officiating crews should meet in a single room and go over the rules.
OSU set up for a fourth-and-four at the Arkansas 15-yard line during the play. The Cowboys frequently use quarterback Alan Bowman’s clap as a phony signal to get defensive linemen to leap. Tight end Quentin Stewart moved to his right when Bowman clapped.
Anton Juncaj, an Arkansas defensive end, leaped at Stewart’s motion. The flag was raised when OSU offensive tackle Dalton Cooper moved in response to his movement.
When the head line judge first arrived, he indicated that Arkansas was offsides. But the umpire intervened and was visible on TV as they talked about Stewart’s action regarding Bowman’s clap.
The thrilling double-overtime finish was set up by OSU’s 5-yard penalty after it was determined to be prohibited motion.
“I was told, ‘You can’t do that,'” Gundy said. However, we’ve already done it. That’s your problem with officiating crews.
