For any athlete, one of the worst nightmares is committing a blooper or brain fart that costs your team dearly.
But fortunately for West Virginia Mountaineers safety Malachi Ruffin, his big mistake did not end up costing the team in their 24-19 road win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
With the game tied 7-7 late in the first half, the Cowboys faced a crucial 3rd-and-10 situation. Quarterback Garret Rangel found Braydon Johnson near midfield for a first down. Ruffin, for whatever reason, believed the pass was incomplete and began celebrating.
Only did he notice a split second later that Johnson easily made the catch, and he took it 43 yards into the West Virginia 19-yard line. The Cowboys would settle on a short Tanner Brown field goal to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
Hey, it would have been a lot worse if Oklahoma State scored a touchdown on the drive. But the Mountaineers defense allowed just nine second-half points, and the offense came alive thanks to 54 and 57-yard touchdown runs from Jaylen Anderson.
The victory moved the Mountaineers to 5-7 on the season, while the Cowboys fell to 7-5.
