Questions arise on winning play

East Carolina defensive coordinator Greg Hudson had several text messages after Friday night's Liberty Bowl loss to Kentucky, including a few that made the defeat tougher to take.

He said they were from "knowledgeable" football men saying Ventrell Jenkins' knee had touched the ground before the Wildcats' end started his winning 56-yard touchdown return off an ECU fumble.

"These were from knowledgeable football people who said his knee was down,'' Hudson said on Saturday. "But they don't make the decision. It's unfortunate."

The play occurred late in the fourth quarter.

ECU's Norman Whitley fumbled near midfield, and Jenkins, a 285-pound defensive end, picked up the ball and rambled for the touchdown, stiff-arming ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney on the way and breaking a 19-19 tie.

That was one of three plays reviewed in the final minutes, but none of them became controversial topics during coach Skip Holtz's postgame news conference.

"That's spilled milk now," Hudson said, adding that "it's [still] been a great year."