Washington State’s ‘fifth down’ ruffles ASU fans’ feathers

Nov 7, 2015, 3:51 PM | Updated: 6:36 pm

Washington State head coach Mike Leach, center, speaks in the huddle during a timeout in the first ...

Washington State head coach Mike Leach, center, speaks in the huddle during a timeout in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

(AP Photo/Young Kwak)

In the second quarter of Arizona State’s game against Washington State Saturday, an inadvertent whistle served as both a game changer and  kindling for Twitter mayhem.

Washington State ran the ball on fourth down and ended up short of the first down. Luckily for the Cougars, an inadvertent whistle let WSU repeat that fourth down. That set up an 11-yard pass from Luke Falk to Dom Williams to make the score 14-10.

“The turning point was when they let them replay fourth down,” head coach Todd Graham said at halftime. “That was the turning point.”

Graham added he was given no explanation from the refs.

Needless to say, the “fifth down” got conversations going on social media.

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Washington State’s ‘fifth down’ ruffles ASU fans’ feathers