With the decision in question, Missouri's defense made the play of the game Friday. Michael Sam stripped the ball from Oklahoma State quarterback Clint Chelf, Shane Ray picked up the ball and ran 73 yards for the game-deciding touchdown in the Cotton Bowl.
Missouri, whose offense misfired frequently during the night, came away with a 41-31 victory over its former Big 12 rival.
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"All the drama you don't want as a coach in the fourth quarter," Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said. "We had a lot of adversity, and our team handled the adversity well and made the plays we needed to win. I wanted that trophy really bad, wanted it bad for them."
Henry Josey ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 16-yarder with 3:08 left.
The former conference rivals traded points on six consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, until Chelf was sacked and fumbled with a minute left. Ray picked up the ball and rumbled 76 yards down the sideline in front of the stunned Cowboys bench to score.
SEC East champion Missouri (12-2) matched its school record for victories, giving the SEC its 10th win in the past 11 Cotton Bowls, all against the Big 12.
Josey's go-ahead TD came a play after James Franklin's 27-yard pass to Dorial Green-Beckham on third-and-9. Franklin, plagued by injuries the past two seasons, had two fumbles earlier in the second half when Oklahoma State (10-3) overcame a 10-point deficit to tie it in just over 3½ minutes.
Ray had been dragged into the end zone by Desmond Roland when the Oklahoma State running back bulled through the line for a two-yard TD run with five minutes left to give the Cowboys their only lead of the night. Ray hit Roland immediately at the line, but couldn't keep him from scoring.
Franklin was 15-of-40 passing for 174 yards with an interception in the first half.
Chelf threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, finishing 33-of-57 passing. He also ran 10 times for 48 yards, including a 23-yard run on third-and-10 only a few plays before Sam, an All-SEC defensive end, sacked Chelf and knocked the ball loose.
That gave Sam 11½ sacks, the most in the SEC and matching a school record.
With the victory, Pinkel become the winningest coach in Missouri history. He is 102-63 in 13 seasons. Don Faurot went 101-79-10 in 19 seasons.
Missouri backup quarterback Maty Mauk filled in for Franklin when he was injured. Mauk, a freshman, accounted for 105 yards on the drive, including runs of 35 and 34 yards before a 24-yard TD pass to Marcus Lucas.
When Mauk got a series in the second half, the Tigers went three-and-out.
Contributing: Associated Press