College football game offers early contender for craziest ending this season
The 2023 college football season is just starting and we already have a contender for the wildest, craziest ending to a game we will see all year.
We take you to Saturday's game between FCS Norfolk State and D-II Virginia State, which Virginia State ultimately ended up winning by a 33-24 margin.
But it was not easy getting to that result.
With Virginia State facing a fourth down situation deep in its own territory and holding a slim three-point lead with only six seconds to play, it attempted to run a play to run out the clock and not allow Norfolk State an opportunity to touch the football.
Quarterback Jordan Davis sprinted out of his own end zone, made his way to the sideline, and stepped out of bounds after he thought the clock had expired. The problem is the clock did not expire, as there was still one second remaining on the clock. Even worse, he did not reach the first down marker.
This gave Norfolk State an opportunity to tie the game with what should have been a chip shot field goal.
That was when things really went sideways.
Instead of making the game-tying field goal, Norfolk State botched the snap, allowing Virginia State to pick it up and run it back the length of the field for a touchdown.
Here is a look at the entire sequence.
There was a lot happening there.
Given where the ball was located on the fourth down play and how close the score was, it is certainly understandable as to why Virginia State did not want to punt the football. A lot of things could have gone wrong there from a fumbled snap, to a blocked kick, to a potential punt return touchdown.
Running around for a few seconds until the clock expires was certainly an option, but obviously not without its risks.
The other option — which the announcers pointed out — would have been to take an intentional safety with only a couple of seconds remaining. That would have removed the risk of a fumbled snap or a blocked punt, and really taken Norfolk State out of position for a potential game-winning field goal.
Running around on fourth down and stepping out of bounds short of the first down marker with time still remaining on the clock was the worst possible option.
Fortunately for Virginia State it did not matter and how everybody can laugh about it (hopefully). Norfolk State, meanwhile, has to think about the "what if" scenario for the next week until its next game.
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