Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said Sunday that the Big 12 acknowledged that it made an incorrect call in overtime of the Red Raiders’ loss to Baylor on Saturday.
In the first overtime of Baylor’s 33-30 win over Texas Tech, a snap from Bears’ center Jake Fruhmorgen hit his rear end and fell to the turf and was recovered by Texas Tech defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings. The officials blew the play dead quickly and penalized Baylor with a false start for an illegal snap. Baylor scored a touchdown two plays later; Texas Tech tied the game on its overtime possession but the Bears went on to win in a second overtime.
Texas Tech coach Matt Wells stated his case to the officials in the moment the call was made and acknowledged his exasperation to reporters after the game, but Hocutt got an official acknowledgement from the conference on Sunday.
“It is important to state that we have been in constant communication with the Big 12 Conference office from the immediate end of the game and throughout Sunday regarding the illegal snap call in the first overtime,” Hocutt said in a statement. “It has been confirmed that the ruling on the field of an illegal snap was incorrect.
“The play is not reviewable by rule because it is a dead ball judgment call by the official. I am confident that the Big 12 Conference will deal with the matter internally as they complete the review of the game in its entirety. While this is a very unfortunate circumstance, I could not be more proud of our team and the competitive fight and effort with which they competed.”
According to the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision rule book, illegal snaps occur when either the ball is touched by the defensive team during the snap, the snapper “lifts or moves the ball forward” before snapping it.
The loss dropped Texas Tech to 3-3 on the year and No. 22 Baylor is the third consecutive top-25 opponent the Red Raiders have faced. The win preserved the Bears’ undefeated season at 6-0.
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