Bob Stoops
Several Oklahoma Sooners players crowded onto ESPN's postgame set to celebrate their upset Sugar Bowl victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide, but caused the stage to collapse in the process. Wikipedia Commons

All of the excitement produced by the Oklahoma Sooners’ upset Sugar Bowl victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide was a little too much for ESPN’s postgame set to handle.

Oklahoma shocked the college football world on Thursday, defeating Nick Saba’s Crimson Tide by 45-31 despite the fact that Alabama was a 16-point favorite, ESPN reports. After the game, several Oklahoma players joined head coach Bob Stoops on ESPN’s stage to celebrate their Sugar Bowl victory. Unfortunately, the set wasn’t equipped to handle that kind of weight.

The ESPN stage collapsed during the live broadcast, causing co-hosts Mark May and Lou Holtz — as well as more than a dozen Oklahoma football players — to drop a few feet. Luckily, no one was injured, and both the players and the ESPN personalities laughed off the incident.

The collapse of ESPN’s set was the perfect conclusion to a shocking night of college football. Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight wasn’t named the team’s starter until shortly before kickoff, but had the game of his young career. The freshman threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns, and set a Sugar Bowl record with 32 completions.

Conversely, the loss amounted to a disappointing end to the college football career of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron. The two-time national champion threw for nearly 400 yards, but his fumble in the final minute of regulation led to a game-clinching Sooners touchdown.

A video of the ESPN stage collapse can be viewed below.

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