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Controversial Replay Refusal Could Shape Entire NCAA Football Conference

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A questionable call may have cost Arizona State a huge Pac-12 win over Oregon on Saturday.

A one-yard run by ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter pulled the Sun Devils to within 31-29. ASU coach Herm Edwards decided to go for two to tie the score.

But a pass from Wilkins to wide receiver Frank Darby in the back of the end zone was ruled out of bounds.

You be the judge.

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In college football, only one foot needs to be down after a catch and it appears on the slow-motion replay that Darby’s left foot is in bounds and down when he makes the catch.

But the refs ruled his foot was out of bounds. Thus, the attempt was ruled no good and Oregon held on over the last five minutes to win 31-29.

“They said his foot was out, but we had a good design. I think most people in the stadium thought we were going to throw to (star receiver) N’Keal (Harry). The foot just couldn’t get in. Frank makes the catch, but we don’t make the play,” said Edwards after the game, reported Oregon Live.

Edwards had asked the referees to review the play, but he was refused, which angered Sun Devils fans.

Considering it was such an important play in the game, and one that was highly questionable on the replays, the officials should have taken a look at the play to confirm the ruling.

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The loss ended ASU’s hopes of winning the Pac-12 South. Had they won, the Sun Devils would have kept pace with South Division leader Utah (8-3, 6-3), which beat Colorado 30-7.

Should this play have warranted a review?

A win at Arizona next Saturday would have assured ASU the South crown and a shot to play in the Pac-12 title game, but now the title goes to Utah.

ASU dropped to 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the conference.

With a win over Arizona, ASU would have been 6-3, tied with Utah, a team they beat 38-20 a week earlier to win the tiebreaker.

“This is a hard one to swallow. A lot of tears in that locker room obviously. We got to get over that. We have another game left and from there we’ll figure out what bowl we’re going to get to play in,” Edwards said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the Arizona State team as the Wildcats instead of the Sun Devils.

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Dave is a lifelong sports fan who has been writing for The Wildcard since 2017. He has been a writer for more than 20 years for a variety of publications.
Dave has been writing about sports for The Wildcard since 2017. He's been a reporter and editor for over 20 years, covering everything from sports to financial news. In addition to writing for The Wildcard, Dave has covered mutual funds for Pensions and Investments, meetings and conventions, money market funds, personal finance, associations, and he currently covers financial regulations and the energy sector for Macallan Communications. He has won awards for both news and sports reporting.
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