National Coordinator of Officials explains illegal lateral on Oklahoma kickoff return

Oklahoma fans were up in arms during the first quarter of the Sooners’ win over Texas last weekend due to a controversial lateral on a pivotal kickoff return. On the return, OU wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway reversed field on a lateral, eventually going out of bounds at the 44-yard line.

After review, the referees ruled the lateral was forward and, therefore, illegal. While the decision may have enraged the Oklahoma faithful in the moment, it was the correct call upon further review. In a video from SEC Officiating, National Coordinator of Officials Steve Shaw explained the referees’ ruling.

“Remember, replay must evaluate all aspects of each play,” Shaw said. “Replay is going to stop the game to look at the pitch to [Pettaway]. We see that the initial return man, he’s going to pitch the ball from right at the 20-yard line. [Pettaway] is going to catch it maybe just beyond the 21. Live, it optically appeared backward, but this pitch is clearly forward.”

Oklahoma ultimately punted on this drive, but it walked away with a win. An Oklahoma mistake was a rare sighting in the game. In the win, Oklahoma rattled off 486 total yards of offense while committing just four penalties. Meanwhile, Texas committed nine penalties and three turnovers.

Oklahoma outshines any mistakes

In the end, Oklahoma’s early mistake was an afterthought. Instead, the Sooners left viewers with an outstanding impression, including Paul Finebaum. During an appearance on “The Matt Barrie Show,” Finebaum praised head coach Brent Venables and Oklahoma.

“I cannot be more impressed with Brent Venables because I really had my doubts, and you couldn’t help and have your doubts,” Finebaum said. “I had Oklahoma fans and friends keep telling me, ‘You’re wrong. They’re great.’ I said, ‘Calm down. You’ve beaten nobody.’ But, on the biggest stage that they’ll play on until they play again against Texas, that was just amazing.”

The stunning victory was a far cry from what Sooners fans saw last year in the annual matchup. In 2022, Texas bludgeoned Oklahoma 49-0, welcoming Venables to the rivalry game. Obviously, the 52-year-old coach didn’t let the blowout loss stop his program from progressing.

“[The win] just reinforces how well Venables has progressed as a head coach,” Finebaum said. “Dillon Gabriel, it was just pure magic at times to watch it… That’s one of the big wins I’ve seen in a long time and it meant so much because there had been there been a degree of apprehension from Oklahoma people about coming into the SEC.”