Oregon took control of its game at Utah with 24 straight points in the second quarter and 21 unanswered in the fourth. But the game could have been much different.
One play Saturday night in Salt Lake City completely swung the momentum of the game between No. 5 Oregon and No. 20 Utah.
The Utes appeared to be ready to go up 14-0 early in the second quarter when Kaelin Clay hauled in what looked to be a 79-yard touchdown pass from Travis Wilson.
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But Clay committed one of the cardinal sins of sports—premature celebration.
He dropped the ball short of the goal line. While Clay and a teammate celebrated in the back of the end zone, Oregon cornerback Erick Dargan picked up the ball.
A Utah player came in and stripped the ball away from Dargan near the goal line, as more Utes celebrated at the end line, but linebacker Joe Walker picked up the loose football, got a wall of blockers and ran 100 yards for a game-tying touchdown.
"“I thought he might have dropped the ball a little early. I wasn’t too sure,” Walker told The Associated Press. “I saw the ref throw the bean bag (to indicate a fumble). Ran down there, picked up the ball.”"
Oregon (9-1) ran scored two more touchdowns and a field goal before Utah got on the board again.
So what could have been a 14-0 lead for the Utes instead turned into a 24-10 halftime lead for the Ducks.
The crazy play took 36.2 seconds. Here it is, courtesy of Business Insider.
The play even fooled the cameras, which didn’t pick up Walker’s run the other way until he was almost to midfield.
Kudos to the officials for being on top of the play. Neither the side judge nor the back judge signaled touchdown and it was the side judge who dropped the beanbag to mark the fumble.
Clay had a big game for the Utes—five catches for 152 yards—but all anyone will remember from the game is the one yard he didn’t gain.
"“I know how important points are, so I take full responsibility,” Clay said. “I got carried away.”"
It’s a mistake we’ve seen players make before … just never with a result quite this bizarre.
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