Washington State Football: Taunting penalty negates Pick-Six

Washington State football‘s defensive back Marcus Strong saw his pick-six called back for taunting in the Alamo Bowl against Iowa State. It was an awfully draconian call for what Strong actually did.

Through the first seven minutes of the Alamo Bowl, it felt odd that neither Washington State nor Iowa State had yet put any points on the scoreboard. The Cyclones were driving deeper into Cougars territory, though, after Brock Purdy had connected with Hakeem Butler on a perfectly-timed slant that went for 34 yards.

Then Purdy telegraphed a pass that Washington State defensive back Marcus Strong read perfectly. Jumping the route, Strong snatched a clean interception just inside the Cougars 30 and started edging toward the sideline and racing for the endzone. Several Iowa State players tried in vain to catch the speedy secondary star as he streaked in for six points.

But, because the NCAA is insistent on turning its product into as joyless and sanitized a spectacle as possible, Strong’s feat was called back for a taunting penalty. As he raced for the goal line, Strong started reaching the ball out around the 15-yard line with his right hand and looking back at the last few Iowa State players with a chance to catch him.

Washington State still managed to punch in the first touchdown of the game, putting seven points on the scoreboard with Gardner Minshew‘s 22-yard touchdown pass to Renard Bell three plays later. But it wasn’t the delayed gratification that was the issue as much as the principle of trying to tamp down celebration.

For the first time in his college career, Strong had the chance to score a touchdown after snatching away an interception. Bowl games are an opportunity to celebrate, yet the officials were quick to pull a flag on a player reaching out for the goal line.

Unless it comes out that the official who threw the flag could audibly hear a taunt, it is hard to call what Strong did taunting in any traditional sense of the term.