The Big 12 acknowledged it made an officiating error that went against Texas Tech in the Red Raiders’ double-overtime loss at then-No. 22 Baylor on Saturday.
On the second play of overtime, a shotgun snap from Baylor center Jake Fruhmorgen went off his rear end and fell to the turf, quickly recovered by Texas Tech defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings. Instead of ruling a recovered fumble, however, officials threw a flag and penalized Fruhmorgen for an illegal snap.
The Bears kept possession and scored a touchdown on the possession.
Texas Tech tied the game with a TD but fell 33-30 after the second OT.
“It is important to state that we have been in constant communication with the Big 12 Conference office from the immediate end of the game and throughout Sunday regarding the Illegal Snap call in the first overtime,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement.
“It has been confirmed that the ruling on the field of an Illegal Snap was incorrect. The play is not reviewable by rule because it is a dead ball judgement call by the official. I am confident that the Big 12 Conference will deal with the matter internally as they complete the review of the game in its entirety.
“While this is a very unfortunate circumstance, I could not be more proud of our team and the competitive fight and effort with which they competed.”
Texas Tech fell to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in the Big 12. Baylor (6-0, 3-0) moved up to No. 18 in Sunday’s AP Top 25.
