The Missouri State Bears nearly pulled off something quite ridiculous against the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday thanks to some sort of miscommunication on the Ball State sideline.
With 2:31 left in the fourth quarter and Ball State up by 14, the Cardinals were called for offside on a 4th and 10 with Missouri State in possession at the Ball State 17. The Cardinals were apparently under the impression that there was a timeout on the field after the penalty, but that was not the case.
Missouri State, however, was aware that the clock was not stopped. They quickly lined up for an offensive play against the one hapless Ball State defender who was seemingly aware of what was going on. The rest of the defense was huddled up near the sideline — but crucially behind the line of scrimmage.
The result was one of the funniest plays you are likely to see.
Video would help… Ball State was called for offside and thinks the clock is stopped. Missouri St then runs a play 11 on 1, but it gets negated because Ball State had huddled on the field and therefore offside https://t.co/qHxn8NgKAt pic.twitter.com/fhgXjUguzW
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 7, 2024
The play was ultimately negated by another Ball State offside, which was purely the result of the Cardinals huddling on the field. In other words, had they been on the sideline or otherwise off the field, the play would have been totally legal.
Ball State’s lack of awareness still had consequences. The offside gave Missouri State a free first down, and they did wind up scoring a touchdown about 30 seconds later. It was not enough to spark a full comeback, as Ball State wound up winning 42-34.
You’ll see the occasional blunder where a team accidentally sends ten players out for a crucial play due to some confusion. Rarely, if ever, will you see an entire team confused to that degree. The coaching staff will probably want to take a long, hard look at how that was allowed to happen.
