Central Michigan Stuns OSU With Crazy Final Play

Oklahoma State dropped to Central Michigan 30-27 Saturday after the Chippewas converted a Hail Mary with zero seconds on the clock.

Mason Rudolph opened with the passing game but got off to a slow start, firing an incomplete pass on third and nine, forcing the Cowboys to punt.

By the 5:52 mark, there was only 10 total yards of offense and Rudolph's completion rate was 6-of-9. That was until he connected with Jason McClesky for a touchdown on five plays and 57 yards to give OSU and early 7-0 lead.

After playing disciplined and aggressive defense for most of the quarter, CMU began to crumble and its offense wasn't producing. At the same time, Rudolph was finding his rhythm, delivering passes in a more efficient way. The momentum shift led to another Cowboy touchdown when Rudolph connected with Zac Veatch for an 18-yard scoring catch. In the drive, the Cowboys went 63 yards in just 47 seconds.

The Chippewas answered back early in the second quarter on third and 20 when Cooper Rush scrambled in the pocket, kept his eyes up the field and found Tyler Conklin who completed the 24-yard scoring play to cut CMU's deficit 14-7.

After Justice Hill helped the Cowboys make way to midfield, redshirt freshman kicker Matt Ammendola stepped up to nail a 53-yard field goal, putting OSU up 17-7. The field goal was the fourth longest in Oklahoma State history.

A field goal from the Chippewas made it a 17-10 game shortly before the half.

The second half started off slow until CMU stepped up with 5:10 to play in the third quarter to tie the game 17-17 when Cooper connected with Conklin for his second end zone appearance. Ben Grogan answered for the Cowboys with a 36-yard field goal to put OSU back up 20-17.

CMU took its first lead of the game with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter on a pass Devon Spalding.

The Cowboys soon threatened, but an intercepted pass from Rudolph ended the drive. OSU's defense stepped up on the next play and recovered a fumble to give the Cowboys another opportunity to reclaim the lead.

With the Cowboys down 24-20 and Rudolph given a second life, OSU stayed poised and took advantage of the offensive possession with a scoring pass from freshman slot receiver Dillon Stoner to James Washington to help the Cowboys claim a 27-24 lead.  

In the final stretch, with many thinking the game was over, Central Michigan converted a Hail Mary to win 30-27 with zero seconds on the clock. The controversial win came after Central Michigan was allowed to play an additional untimed down after a fourth down intentional grounding penalty was called on the Cowboys. By rule, the call should not have been assessed and ruled for an extra play. 

After the game, Gundy took the blame, saying that he called the clock-killing pass play not thinking that intentional grounding would be called. But referee Tim O'Dey from the MAC admitted the mistake after the game. 

"Either way, it was a bad decision on my part to throw the ball where we were still in the box and get the intentional grounding. Then, they made a fantastic play to get to that point." said OSU head coach Mike Gundy. 

Rudolph added, "It was more on me and the offense's part for kind of sputtering in the first half and even the second half, putting our defense in a bad situation."

Over two hours after the game, the Big 12 and the MAC stated that officials misapplied the rule allowing the extra play. But they also said by rule the game is final and the outcome can't be reversed.