NORMAN — A handful of X (formerly Twitter) users were disappointed on Sunday afternoon when ESPN switched over from its broadcast of a United Football League game to its NBA Playoffs pregame show.
Sure, ESPN was about to preview the Oklahoma City Thunder’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, but the UFL game was still important to some Oklahomans and spring football fans.
Former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops and his Arlington Renegades were in a tight matchup with the D.C. Defenders as they tried to stave off elimination from 2025 UFL postseason contention.
The Renegades ended up losing that contest 33-30 when quarterback Luis Perez threw an interception with under a minute left, instead of kneeling to set up a game-tying field goal.
And yet, that might not have been the craziest (or funniest) thing that happened in Stoops and the Renegades’ loss.
People are also reading…
Back in the second quarter, D.C. was leading 15-3 when the Defenders’ Andre Mintze sacked Perez and Devonnsha Maxwell returned the ball to Arlington’s 1-yard line.
But, it appeared that Renegades receiver Dae Dae Hunter ripped the ball away from Maxwell before falling out the side of the end zone.
The referee initially ruled that it was a fumble into the end zone by D.C., and though the ball was possessed by Arlington, Hunter landed out of bounds and failed to establish himself in bounds.
In the NFL, that still would have been a touchback on the D.C. fumble, but by UFL rules, the Defenders got the ball back on the Renegades’ 1-yard line.
Not only is the UFL a unique pro alternative league with its spring season and special rulebook, but players and coaches are often interviewed on the sidelines during the games and microphones are sometimes left hot on the broadcasts.
So, Stoops’ reaction when the referee explained the UFL end zone fumble rule?
“You’ve got some f***ed up rules,” Stoops told the official.
The clip of that exchange has since gone semi-viral on ESPN SportsCenter’s X page.
"You got some f---ed up rules."
Bob Stoops after @TheUFL officials explained the ruling on the play 🤣 pic.twitter.com/2CaISYYdc3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 18, 2025
Stoops went on to challenge that Arlington receiver Deontay Burnett was held by a D.C. defensive player before Perez fumbled.
The play was sent to the UFL Command Center, where it was reviewed by rules expert Mike Pereira, the former NFL vice president of officiating.
“I’ve got more going on on this play than I have all year long,” Pereira joked.
Pereira ruled that it was a hold and Stoops won the challenge. The officials changed the call on the field and Arlington got the ball back.
WHAT A WILD TURN OF EVENTS IN @TheUFL 🚨
The strip sack got called back as a result of a coach's challenge 😅 pic.twitter.com/uSzvdrRHuG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 18, 2025
That didn’t ultimately help the Renegades to victory, but Stoops was glad the officials got it right.
“Fortunately, that went our way,” Stoops said in his postgame press conference. “...Deontay Burnett was telling me, ‘Coach, if they uphold that,’ he goes, ‘I was held ahead of Luis getting sacked.’ So I challenged it and I just trusted him.”
The loss was Arlington's fourth straight, dropping it to 3-5 on the year and eliminating the Renegades from the playoffs. Meanwhile, D.C. improved to 6-2 and cliched a playoff spot.
The 2025 campaign is Stoops’ fourth season with the Renegades. He coached the team in 2020 when they were the Dallas Renegades of the XFL, but their season ended after five games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stoops and the Renegades picked up where they left off when the XFL restarted in 2023. Stoops led the team to the 2023 league championship with a title game win over D.C. Now Arlington has two games left in its second season in the UFL, a merger of the XFL and USFL.
Stoops, who coached Oklahoma from 1999-2016, won the 2000 national championship and has the most coaching wins in Sooner history (191), still has that zest for leading a team.
Yet, he’s a lot more laid back in the UFL, which has far less pressure to win than college football and the NFL.
A reporter asked Stoops during his postgame presser Sunday if the topsy-turvy loss to D.C. was one of the most heartbreaking defeats of his career, and all Stoops could do was chuckle.
“Well, I don’t know that I’d go quite there,” he said. “I had a long career... in case you didn’t know.”
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
0 Comments
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!