This past weekend, Arkansas lost in a controversial ending when Auburn's quarterback spiked the ball backwards in a one possession game. That call, while hotly contested by Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman at the time, was ruled an incomplete pass instead of a fumble.
The SEC later admitted the mistake made by the officiating crew, noting that Tigers quarterback Bo Nix had spiked the ball behind his own foot, therefore firing a fumble at the ground and not an incomplete pass. That string of event was followed by a whistle that was likely blown too soon that did not allow for a "clear recovery," leading to a blown call all around.
There is good news to come of the situation, even if it is a bit late for Arkansas to hop on the ball and simply take a few knees to notch Pittman's second win against a ranked team.
According to Tommy Craft of ESPN, that controversial ending has led to an important change.
Craft's tweet reads:
"CFB Replay guidelines for clear and immediate recover are changing for this week following the Arkansas vs. Auburn game. New guidance will allow for the replay to consider any recovery beginning this week."
Moving forward, replay will be able to consider "any recovery" and hopefully that will help this type of situation from coming up again.