Oklahoma State Student Newspaper Says Central Michigan Should Forfeit Win if it Has Integrity
By Kyle Koster
Oklahoma State’s student newspaper, The O’Colly, has published a a staff editorial addressing the football team’s controversial loss to Central Michigan over the weekend. And it’s a doozy.
The O’Colly staff isn’t asking for much. All they want is for Central Michigan to forfeit the win.
Seriously.
Let’s take a look, line-by-line at this desperate plea.
It doesn’t take much in-depth searching to find the Central Michigan University’s core values on its website.
The first one listed: integrity. It’s the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
CMU has the opportunity to embody that.
Oh, wow. Wasting no time playing the integrity card. The idea that college football in 2016 is an exercise in integrity and strong moral principles is laughable. Surely we are not at a point as a society that we must look to an overturned result in a non-conference football game to get our compass calibrated.
While it’s true that Central Michigan lists these values on its website, their placement comes directly below the university’s mission statement expressing a commitment to, “the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, discovery, and creativity.” Now, as far as creativity goes, Saturday’s blown-call/Hail Mary combo is about as innovative as it comes.
Coincidentally, Oklahoma State’s website on core values section claims the university is, “committed to the principles of truth and honesty” and “will be equitable, ethical, and professional.”
Honestly, here’s the truth: Central Michigan won the game. It’s over.
The Chippewas beat Oklahoma State 30-27 Saturday in Stillwater. Quarterback Cooper Rush slung the ball in the air. Jesse Kroll caught it as he fell. Before he hit the turf, Kroll pitched the ball to Corey Willis. Willis sprinted across the field and into the end zone.
Game over.
The OSU football team and its fans stood quiet in disbelief. Moments before they were cheering until an intentional grounding call gave CMU an untimed down.
That cheering should have never stopped. By this time, OSU fans should have been singing the alma mater with a 2-0 football team.
That’s certainly an argument. But here’s where the slope begins to ice over in a slippery mix of black ice and wet snow. Oklahoma State fans had countless other opportunities to have the game end in a joyous singing of the alma mater. A few of them include: finding a way to stop Cooper Rush, scoring more than 27 points at home against a MAC opponent and having a head coach design a time-wasting play that includes an eligible receiver in the vicinity of the ball.
Central Michigan may have been given the timeless gift of an extra down, but the Chippewas also put themselves in the position to capitalize by hanging tough against the Cowboys for four quarters.
The play that quieted Boone Pickens Stadium should have never happened. The NCAA football rulebook states that the game should have ended, despite the intentional grounding penalty. After the game, the officials admitted their hiccup. Now, all that’s left, is for CMU to accept the truth.
For the game’s result to be overturned, OSU must appeal to CMU and the Chippewas must approve it.
That’s easier said than done. The Chippewas would give up a win against a team from a Power Five conference. They would give up an easy road to tallying a 12-0 record. CMU doesn’t play another opponent ranked in the top 25 this season.
WHAT? Look, Central Michigan could prove to be a fine football team but the reason why the Chippewas won’t be willingly forfeiting a victory isn’t because they believe they have national title hopes. The reason they won’t be forfeiting the win is because it would be unprecedented and really stupid.
Blown calls happen in every game. They happen on the first snap, the 86th snap and the final snap. Opening the door for a Hail Mary was undeniably a terrible job of officiating but why should that missed call be cause for a reversal and any earlier botched decision that went in Oklahoma State’s favor be allowed to stand?
It’s not easy, but practice what you preach, Chippewas.
CMU can be remembered for a game-winning Hail Mary that shouldn’t have happened. They can use the play as a recruiting tool. It’ll be free exposure on ESPN all season. It’s an opportunity small schools dream of.
But how can CMU try to improve its university on a play that never should have happened? Especially when it motto begins with integrity?
CMU, you claim to teach integrity. Now’s your chance. They say the best way to teach is by example.
Here is that example.
I don’t want to pile on Oklahoma State and its fan base. Losing like they lost on Saturday sucks. It sucks big time. But this op-ed is so condescending it hurts. Do you think a similar editorial would have been written of the Cowboys had lost to, say, Texas is similar fashion? This reeks of an embarrassed and hurt Goliath trying to come back to life just because David used a few non-regulation stones in his slingshot.
Good luck with that.