Washington State Lost Major Upset Bid On Niche College Football Rules Dispute With Boneheaded Fair Catch

Washington State came less three minutes away from one of the bigger upsets of the college football season against No. 16-ranked Virginia. A niche fair catch rule ultimately proved to be the difference.

It is a story that did not receive enough attention because the game aired on the CW Network during a period of far more high-profile matchups on Saturday evening.

The Cougars were one touchdown away from a winning record in college football. They instead fell below .500 because of the heartbreaking mistake that led directly to a safety.

Washington State gave Virginia everything it had.

For the second week in a row, Washington State took a top-25 team down to the wire on the road. It lost undefeated Ole Miss by only three two weekends ago and 5-1 Virginia by only two this past weekend.

The Cougars jumped out to an early lead at halftime. They held a 10-point lead over the Hoos at the start of the fourth quarter.

However, the home side did not go down without a fight. Chandler Morris, J’Mari Taylor and Harrison Waylee led a nine-play, 97-yard scoring drive to cut the score to 20-17. A quick interception gave the ball right back to Virginia. It added a field goal to tie the game just seven plays later.

Washington State set up to receive the ensuing kickoff with two minutes and 55 seconds left in the game. The Cougs had a chance to take down the clock, score and win the game.

What happened next was a disaster.

College football fair catch rules proved to be the difference.

Two Wazzu players lined up deep for the kickoff— wide receiver Leyton Smithson and running back Kirby Vorhees. Smithson caught the kick at the two-yard-line.

He immediately ran forward to make a return but officials blew the play dead and ruled a fair catch.

A fair catch would typically advance the ball to the 25-yard-line. No big deal.

However, Smithson did not call for a fair catch before he caught the ball. Vorhees called for a fair catch even though he did not catch the ball. That was a big mistake. It cost the Cougars 23 yards.

There is no question Vorhees made a valid fair catch signal. By rule, “a valid signal is a signal given by a player of Team B who has obviously signaled his intention by extending one hand only clearly above his head and waving that hand from side to side of his body more than once.”