Chippewas’ wild win a mistake

Refs admit error after lateral off Hail Mary beats Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, Okla. — The officiating mistake was a doozy — and it cannot be fixed. 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 — yes, both! — that covered 51 yards 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.

He later admitted there is a situation where the game can end on an infraction.

“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 to the AP: “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 sway 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.

BRODY SCHMIDT/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oklahoma State’s Chad Whitener sits alone in the end zone while Central Michigan players celebrate after a 51-yard touchdown on the final play earned a 30-27 win over the Cowboys on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.