There are now calls for college football rule changes following the wild finish to Monday night’s Sugar Bowl.
Washington came out on top after an exciting affair, but not before nails were bitten down to the roots. The game appeared well out of reach following Texas’ failed attempt at recovering an onside kick with just over a minute remaining, but they came within one missed catch of winning the game as they got another possession no one saw coming.
The Huskies would run the ball twice after they recovered the onside kick, forcing the Longhorns to use up their last two timeouts. And, with 50 seconds remaining on the clock, they opted to run instead of taking a knee on a 3rd-and-5. The ill-advised play resulted in running back Dillon Johnson getting injured, which meant the clock had to be stopped.
So instead of punting with around 15 seconds to go, Washington gave the ball up with 47 seconds on the clock. To make matters worse, they got a penalty on the punt that left Texas in better field position, and they nearly put a game-winning drive together.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg is one of many people who have suggested that the injury rule should be changed to avoid such situations in the future.
“Realize most teams wouldn’t have taken a knee on third-and-5 when a first down wins the game. But the injury stoppage completely changed this situation,” he wrote on X. “That rule should be changed.”
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It’s certainly an interesting one and whether the NCAA will consider a change is still unknown. Still, all of this could have been avoided had Michael Penix Jr. just taken a knee. It clearly wasn’t worth it.
