I spy an amendment coming next summer.

After the Oklahoma Sooners returned to Norman following the Kansas State shocker, the Big 12 reached out to Lincoln Riley to further clarify how the controversial onside kick ruling was determined. Apparently, a player that is blocked into touching the ball has to be called on the field and is not a reviewable play. That means no matter how obvious such a situation appears on replay, if it wasn’t ruled that way before review, it can’t be deemed as such after the fact.

The Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey shared a quote from Riley in regards to the unfortunate oversight written in the rulebook.

For the record, the team is not blaming the loss on this unfortunate call. Looking back, if Oklahoma was awarded possession after review and was given one final chance to drive for the tie, it’s not a guarantee that they would score. Still, it’s a shame that OU wasn’t afforded the opportunity because of a poorly-written rule, and it’s even more of a shame that this rule will more than likely be amended to allow plays like this to be reviewable in the future.

Now onto this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! There may be Sugar in Oklahoma’s future, the Sooners will host the Cyclones under the lights, LeBron James escapes the L.A. wildfires and more!

OU Links

• Like I mentioned earlier, nobody inside the program is blaming the calls or no-calls on the outcome of the game, including Riley. There were plenty of other areas that Oklahoma had more control over, but just wasn’t consistent enough to earn the win.

• Following the loss on Saturday, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach project Oklahoma to play in the Sugar Bowl versus either Florida or Georgia.
• CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm also expects Riley and the Sooners to square off with Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs down in New Orleans.
• Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World questions whether what Oklahoma displayed in Manhattan on Saturday is the real defense or simply an outlier. For now, it as to be an outlier because of simple math, but if the same defensive issues persist over the next few games, it could be bad sign that things aren’t improving as fast as originally perceived.
• The Sooners find themselves in the logjam of one-loss playoff contenders, and while it’s familiar territory, it won’t be any easier to navigate. Tyler Palmateer from the Norman Trancript has more.
• Finally, Oklahoma will play a night game for the first time in almost two months when it hosts Iowa State on Nov. 9. The 7 p.m. CT kickoff will be televised on FOX. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Around the Sports World

• After falling down 0-2 at home, the Houston Astros rallied to win the next three games on the Washington Nationals’ field to take a 3-2 World Series lead back to H-Town. Baseball is funny like that sometimes.

• Houston Texans defensive lineman and all-around pro J.J. Watt suffered a pectoral injury on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. That’s a tough break for a great guy.
• Early Monday morning, the Lakers’ LeBron James had to evacuate his family from their Los Angeles home with nearby wildfires continuing to spread and create a life-threatening environment. James later confirmed that his family was eventually able to find proper shelter. Scary stuff.

• The Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1) have been dealing with a number of injuries at the running back position lately, so on Monday morning it was revealed that the organization has traded a late-round 2020 draft pick to the Miami Dolphins for Kenyan Drake.
• An Iowa State Cyclones fan fell at least 25-feet from the upper deck seating at Jack Trice Stadium over the weekend. The person was immediately taken to the hospital, but their condition is currently unknown.

Stick to Sports!

• This Sunday, Nov. 3, the (in)famous Popeye’s chicken sandwich that became a viral sensation overnight is making a long-awaited comeback after going on an indefinite hiatus. Months ago, there were droves of customers lining up across the land eager to try this revolutionary creation, and as a result, Popeye’s straight up sold completely out of chicken sandwiches. Now they’ve replenished their resources and are coming in with a more sound game plan to feed the masses while taking more not-so-subtle jabs at Chick-fil-A. Speaking of which, I still need to try this thing for myself. It’s basically a bucket list item now.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!