SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan strongly criticized the Big 12 officiating crew after BYU’s 22-21 victory over the Utes on Saturday night, citing controversial calls during BYU’s winning drive. Harlan addressed the media before players and Coach Kyle Whittingham took the podium.
“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan stated. “We were excited to join the Big 12, but tonight I’m not. We won this game, and someone else took it from us. I’m very disappointed. I’ll be speaking with the commissioner. This was unfair to our team. The officiating tonight was unprofessional, and I’m disgusted.”
Utah’s defense appeared to halt BYU twice on fourth down during the final drive, but officials overturned both stops.
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw an incomplete pass in the end zone, but the play was ruled dead shortly after the snap because officials claimed BYU had called a timeout.
On the next play, Retzlaff was sacked by Junior Tafuna and Karene Reid, but the sack was nullified by a holding call on Utes cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn.
With a new set of downs, BYU continued advancing. Retzlaff connected with Chase Roberts and Darius Lassiter, and Hinckley Ropati added a 14-yard run, positioning Will Ferrin for a 44-yard game-winning field goal with just four seconds remaining.
Ferrin’s field goal capped BYU’s comeback from an 11-point halftime deficit. Their only offensive touchdown came with 12:35 left on the clock.
BYU Coach Kalani Sitake commented, “That’s football. You can’t hold people. I didn’t see it, but I’ll review it and probably find other uncalled holdings.”
Coach Whittingham echoed Harlan’s frustration, stating, “Things out there were ridiculous. That’s all I’ll say.”
Both Utah and BYU were penalized 10 times, with the Utes incurring 90 yards and the Cougars 67 yards in penalties.