After Saturdays college football games we have a brand new play that is the absolute definition of momentum swinging and game changing. That play happened in the Big 12 matchup that saw the Texas Longhorns taking on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock.
This college football highlight begins with the Longhorns facing 3rd and goal from the Longhorns 24-yard line after a couple of negative plays had taken them back. The play is a run right up the middle and despite some elusive initial work from the Texas ball carrier, it looks like the play is going to end when he is stood up on a hit at around the seven-yard line. This though is right when the play starts to get interesting.
The running back is able to keep his legs moving and suddenly he surges forward when a couple of the Longhorns linemen begin to push him from behind. This is what NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth often refers to on his analysis as a rugby scrum*.
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The pile then starts moving forward with increasing speed. A play that looked like it would be dead suddenly is going to be a touchdown. The ball carrier, and the rest of the pile all fall into the end zone for the score.
Except that there is suddenly a Red Raider running down the near sideline with the ball under his arm. Defensive back Douglas Coleman has somehow smuggled the ball out of the mess and before anyone can react he is 20 yards downfield. Obviously, it is now going to be plain sailing for a Red Raiders score.
Except that if you look at the video you will see that one lone Texas player flies after Coleman and makes him take an angle that actually sees him step out of bounds inside the Texas five-yard line. The only problem was that the review only looked at where the initial ball strip took place, so the touchdown stands for the Red Raiders.
It is a truly bizarre play and one you are not likely to see again for some time.
Also an official gets ran over in the middle of the play. That is always a funny thing to see.
*Note – This is nothing like a rugby scrum. A scrum is a set formation into which the ball is placed for the two teams to strike with their feet and fight for possession. This is actually much more like a rugby maul, where the ball is taken into contact by one team and the two rivals try to push the pile forwards or backward in order to gain ground. Anyone will a direct line to Collinsworth can feel free to point this out to him ASAP as the rugby scrum thing is the most annoying call of any NFL weekend.
