SALT LAKE CITY -- The hashtag #Pac12AfterDark has caught on for a reason. When the lights go down on the West Coast, things get weird.
We've seen Hill Marys, Jael Marys, onside kicks, overtimes and missed field goals.
What happened Saturday night at Rice-Eccles might take the cake.
The Utah Utes -- poised to take a 14-0 lead on the No. 4 Oregon Ducks early in the second quarter -- were instead looking at a 7-7 tie following one of the most bizarre plays in college football this year. Utah quarterback Travis Wilson had just connected with wide receiver Kaelin Clay on what appeared to be a 79-yard touchdown pass. Clay showed the trademark burst that has made him one of the most dangerous return men in college football as he outdistanced a pair of pursuing Ducks en route to the end zone.
At first glance, the assumption was that Clay scored. The MUSS went crazy. Twitter had confirmed it. Then #Pac12AfterDark, as if summoned from a Ouija board and daring the world to take something for granted, made an appearance.
Here's the “official” explanation of what happened:
Wilson, Travis pass completion to Clay, Kaelin for 78 yards to the ORE1, fumble by Clay, Kaelin recovered by ORE Dargan to ORE0, Dargan Erick for no gain to the ORE0, fumble by Dargan, Erick recovered by Walker, Joe at ORE0, Walker, Joe for 100 yards to the UTAH0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 14:34.
Unofficially, what happened was that the Oregon Ducks seizing momentum from an upset-minded Utah squad fighting for national credibility.
However, amid all the Twitter one-liners and snarky hashtags, was a teary-eyed Clay sitting in front of a bunch of reporters and single-handedly shouldering the blame for the Utes 51-27 loss. The Pac-12 blog gives credit where it's due. He sat in front of a microphone and he owned it.
“I know how important points are, especially against a team like this,” Clay said, choking in between his words. “I take full responsibility for what happened tonight. I will take the criticism and the blame. It was just one of those things. I got excited and let the moment just get away from me. Again, I take full responsibility for this.”
As you'd expect, head coach Kyle Whittingham wasn't pleased with the mental mistake.
“Hand the ball to the ref,” Whittingham said. “We haven't done a good enough job because he didn't do it. That falls on coaching. Hand the ball to the ref when you score a touchdown. We gotta coach it better. We haven't taught it until a player has learned it. If he hasn't learned it, we haven't taught it correctly so we have to do a better job as coaches on that.
“…It's very frustrating. He knows. But as a coach, you have to go over it again and explain it. We went over this in the beginning of the year because we had a couple of close calls. We thought we had it corrected. But tonight it showed up again.”
Who's to say Oregon wouldn't have been able to overcome a 14-0 deficit? And with 11 minutes still to play in the game, Utah had cut the score to 30-27. So no, one play didn't make a difference. And on the flip side, give credit to Dargan and Walker for a heads-up-play.
Here's some reaction from Utah fans, which was overwhelmingly supportive:
@CALiboy4 Kaelin, we still love having you one our team. Keep your chin up! #goutes
— Utah A&M (@Utah_AM) November 9, 2014.@CALiboy4 we've got three busses Rollin' into Stanford next week. Riddin' with you next week.
— The MUSS (@TheMUSS) November 9, 2014@CALiboy4 don't let it define you. Come back next week strong. Utah has your back.
— Brittany G (@Fibby1123) November 9, 2014
