Watch: Targeting Call Negates Oklahoma Interception, Keeps Oklahoma State Alive
A crucial targeting call assessed against Oklahoma's Will Johnson negated an interception and kept Oklahoma State alive.
With just under two minutes remaining, Oklahoma State had the ball driving down 55-52 when Mason Rudolph's pass was intercepted by Tre Brown. Will Johnson was flagged for targeting after a helmet-to-helmet hit, but the referees initially determined that the foul occurred after the interception was secured. In that case, Oklahoma would have gained possession and been penalized 15 yards.
Whether a foul occurred before or after a play is not directly reviewable, but according to Fox's referee expert Dean Blandino, referees do have the ability to overturn the call if an "egregious mistake" was made. The referees reviewed the targeting penalty, which was upheld, and determined that the initial call was egregious enough to change the call. The foul was then determined to have occurred before the interception, so Oklahoma State kept the ball and gained 15 yards with the penalty.
Oklahoma eventually got the stop and scored again to secure a 62-52 win, so the penalty didn't flip the game, but it did keep Oklahoma State alive for a bit longer.
