Was Josh Rosen’s game-winning TD pass vs. Texas A&M incomplete?

Josh Rosen capped off UCLA’s comeback over Texas A&M with a touchdown pass to Jordan Lasley, but was the winning play actually an incomplete pass?

Comeback or collapse, the definition of Sunday night’s UCLA-Texas A&M game depends on what sideline you were on or what team you were rooting for. But in any case, UCLA came back from a 44-10 third quarter deficit to beat A&M 45-44, after Josh Rosen executed a Dan Marino-esque fake spike and hit Jordan Lasley in the back left corner of the end zone for a game-winning touchdown.

In the madness of the game’s dramatic turnaround, and the frenzied final play, details can go by the wayside. But another look at the final touchdown invites some scrutiny, which maybe should have been noticed by the referees.

In college football, a player only has to have one foot down to secure a legal catch against any boundary of the field. But possession is also, of course, the first component of such a play, and Lasley may not have had full possession and a foot down at the same time. Take a look for yourself.

When Lasley’s right foot clearly hit the ground in bounds, it’s far less clear if he had full possession of the ball. The ball appears to be moving, and as the NFL has shown us even if that’s occurring between the receiver’s hands that is a sign of lack of ball control. By the time Lasley has what looks like full possession, and thus a catch, his left foot comes down clearly out of bounds.

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So, while it was close, UCLA’s game-winning touchdown probably should not have counted. But it was also only the first and goal play, with 43 seconds left, so the Bruins may have capped off an epic comeback anyway with momentum clearly in their corner.