There’s a good chance that the craziest play we’ll see in Week 10 of college football took place on Wednesday night during a Conference USA game between Jacksonville State and Middle Tennessee.
Clay Matvick and Chase Daniel were on the call for ESPN2, and they were in awe of what they saw happen to close out the first half.
Middle Tennessee had 4th-and-4 at the Jacksonville State 48-yard line with four seconds remaining in the second quarter. Blue Raiders quarterback Nicholas Vattiato threw a Hail Mary pass that was intercepted by Gamecocks safety Caleb Nix around the five-yard line, and then things got crazy.
Nix made a big return before tossing the ball back to the field of play while falling out of bounds around the Middle Tennessee 25-yard line. Jacksonville State’s Travis Franklin picked the ball up inside the Middle Tennessee 20-yard line and ran it back to the two-yard line before getting rid of the ball while falling down. The ball went forward into the back of the end zone, where Jacksonville State’s Walker O’Steen fell on it for what was initially ruled a touchdown.
It’s one of those plays that you have to see for yourself to really understand.
“There is so much to unpack and so much wrong with what we just saw.”
“They called it a touchdown on the field!”
“Of course they did.” 🏈 😵💫 🎙️ #CFB pic.twitter.com/kimut6eP26
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 30, 2025
“You can’t throw it forward!” Daniel said, through laughter.
“It is covered up in the end zone,” Matvick said. “But there is so much to unpack and so much wrong with what we just saw.”
“Weekday, Conference USA,” Daniel responded. “They called it a touchdown on the field!”
“Of course they did,” Matvick quipped. “With two penalty flags down. This is not going to be a touchdown. I feel pretty safe in saying that.”
After official review for an illegal forward pass, it was ruled that Nix stepped out of bounds before he even got rid of the ball around the 25-yard line.
While the hilarious play didn’t count as a touchdown for Jacksonville State, the Gamecocks did still come away with a 24-21 road victory in Murfreesboro.
