Mike Stoops was fired as defensive coordinator on Sunday evening. Most of us at the stadium, and many of you watching at home, didn’t catch the moment that Curtis Bolton stormed out of the Cotton Bowl.

Bennie and Buds contributor and Fox25 photojournalist Anthony West was there. He tweeted two very notable tweets:

Curtis Bolton just walked out of the Cotton Bowl. — Anthony West (@antdwest) October 6, 2018

He’s back on field. Players stopped him before he got too far. He was yelling and upset about something. — Anthony West (@antdwest) October 6, 2018

I was seated at midfield and Anthony was on the sideline. I asked him for more details on what transpired:

He was yelling about something outside the locker room at half. I couldn’t make out what was being said. After about 10-15 seconds a coach tried to get him back in the locker room and he walked away and walked out of the Cotton Bowl into the fair. Two players went after him and brought him back.

Woah. Emotions are a part of the game, but he walked out of the Cotton Bowl?

And, was this the moment Mike lost the defense? Or that Lincoln realized he had to do something? It sure seems like something happened…

Saturday’s loss did indeed feel different even before I knew about this incident. The Sooners defense was leaky and made Sam Ehlinger look like a much better quarterback than he is. The reaction from fans was predictable, but the media was much different than usual. They wanted answers.

UPDATE:

Many comments have been made regarding whether this suggested Bolton was “quitting” on the team. We don’t have enough details to make a conclusion like that, so we won’t.

Here’s what Bolton said on Twitter on Saturday: