Remember that early season upset Central Michigan pulled don the road against Oklahoma State? The one that was ruled in favor of Central Michigan despite later being confirmed to have been blown by officials from both the Big 12 and MAC? Either Oklahoma State forgot about it too, or they never truly honored that game as a loss. Rings celebrating an Alamo Bowl victory have the season’s record etched into the side, reading 11-2.
Oklahoma State lost three games (Central Michigan, Baylor and Oklahoma). Take one wild guess which one most likely was given the revisionist history.
Alamo Bowl Champions Ring 🍊🏈💯 #GoPokes #CowboyUp pic.twitter.com/8d2jvpcwvy
— Boone Pickens State (@BP_State) April 19, 2017
Central Michigan stunned Oklahoma State on a last-second game-winning touchdown that never should have happened. The Hail Mary came off an untimed down after officials on the field botched the clock on an Oklahoma State penalty. After Mason Rudolph threw the ball away in an attempt to run out the clock with four seconds to play, Rudolph was called for intentional grounding and Central Michigan was given an untimed down. According to the rules, the game should have been called following the penalty without giving Central Michigan a play to run on offense. In the days after the controversial ending, both the Big 12 and MAC released separate statements confirming their conferences’ officials in the replay booth or on the field missed making the correct call, but the results of the game remained in place.
The game will forever live in the record books as a loss for Oklahoma State, but years from now the rings will tell a different story.