I'm no rules expert, but didn't we learn last year (from the Arch TD against aggy) that the goal line extends into infinity and the ball doesn't have to cross inside the pylon? He isn't actually out of bounds until his elbow hits past the broad white border. At that point the ball is well over the theoretical goal line.
Nothing incentivizes a school to schedule marquee OOC games if the committee (1) holds a loss against you (Texas) and (2) ignores a head to head victory (Miami).
Painful what ifs to consider.
1. ND missed a PAT and then aggy went ahead on a last second 4th down TD pass where the refs ignored an obvious hold. That goes the other way and we jump a 2 loss aggy (with zero impressive wins) after thumping them soundly.
2. OU beat Auburn because of a blatantly illegal play that resulted in the refs getting fired. That goes the other way and we're ahead of 3 loss OU.
Has everyone forgotten 2011, the first last game of the series? UT band did a masterful and classy halftime show featuring "Thanks for the Memories".
Then the aggy band followed with a marching sawed off horns.
The excrement was in full flight at a meteoric pace, set to make impact with the spinning fan blades during the Thanksgiving travel weekend. The Dems have saved the Magas from an historic shit splattering.
It's also true that the runner's knee hit the ground well before he went out of bounds. Everyone seemed focused on whether the ball hit the pylon, ignoring the fact that he was down before that.