Going to a college football game in Stillwater, Oklahoma is a unique experience. Not only is Boone Pickens Stadium loud in general, but the fans are also literally right on top of you. There is very little room between the opposing team's sideline and a bunch of screaming students. Add in the noise of the Paddle People in the front row, and it can be a complete nightmare.
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Watching the Oklahoma State Cowboys play at home in 2020 is obviously a lot different than normal due to fan restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 outbreak. Although it's not as loud, the school decided to do something pretty bold and daring during its Halloween matchup with the Texas Longhorns.
When Texas kicker Cameron Dicker lined up for a 40-yard field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter, OSU put yellow lines up on its video board to try to distract him. It didn't work, as the kick split the uprights, but it was a pretty ridiculous act, to say the least.
Oklahoma State's Video Board With Texas Kicker
Oklahoma State tried to get Texas to miss a field goal by putting up yellow lines on the video board pic.twitter.com/2Kkb7vZs1F
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 31, 2020
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Some thought it was funny. Others thought it was brilliant. Most everyone understands it shouldn't be allowed. Let's take it one step further: It should be banned forever.
Any college football team in America with a video board right behind its goal posts should take notes on what not to do here. So should the NCAA. As funny and clever as it might be by the video board operator, it's a pretty classless move.
Texas made the kick to cut the halftime deficit and even pulled off the upset over the No. 6 Cowboys on Saturday afternoon. The controversial act in question was addressed with the Big 12 Conference and Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, too.
Tom Herman, on whether he noticed the lines on the video board in Stillwater to create an optical illusion when Cameron Dicker lined up to attempt a field goal: “I did, and I addressed it with Commissioner Bowlsby...I was told that is not permissible and it had been addressed.”
— Craig Way (@craigway1) November 3, 2020
Longhorns head coach Tom Herman noticed it and explained his actions to play-by-play announcer Craig Way:
"I did, and I addressed it with Commissioner Bowlsby... I was told that is not permissible and it had been addressed."
Not a single team in college football would put up with this. Not Alabama. Not Clemson. Not Ohio State. Not Georgia. Not Florida, Not even Iowa State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Miami, Michigan, Auburn, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Penn State, Tennessee, Rutgers, or anyone in the NFL, for that matter.
If this is the first time this has happened, it should absolutely be the last. This isn't being the fun police. It's about being fair and not so petty.
The touchdown loss might have knocked the Cowboys out of College Football Playoff contention, and it's safe to say they lost more than just the game. They lost some respect.
