BYU remains undefeated. Somehow.
The No. 9 Cougars took advantage of a fourth-down holding penalty to stun Utah 22-21 on Saturday night. The Utes led throughout the second half and appeared to have put the game away when QB Jake Retzlaff threw three incomplete passes and was sacked right in front of their goal line with 90 seconds left.
But before Retzlaff fell into the pocket, Utah’s Zemaiah Vaughn was flagged for controlling the play. The 10-yard penalty gave BYU an automatic first down.
Here’s a look at the penalty in question:
Two plays later, Retzlaff found Chase Roberts for a 30-yard gain to midfield with 1:13 left. Seven plays after that, Will Ferrin kicked a go-ahead 44-yard field goal with three seconds left.
After the game, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan wasted no time calling the referees and saying, “This game was completely stolen from us. We were excited to be in the Big 12, but tonight I’m not. We won this game; someone else.” He stole it from us. Very disappointed. I’ll talk to the commissioner (of the Big 12). This was not fair to our team. “I am disgusted by the professionalism of the referee team tonight.”
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was much less direct in his evaluation of the referees, although he was clearly not happy.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said of the officiating in the 22-21 loss to BYU:
“They are what they are. They are what they are. It’s a ridiculous situation. I’m not going to get into that… things there were ridiculous.”
– Juan Canzano (@johncanzanobft) November 10, 2024
The improbable comeback came after BYU’s offense was out of sync all night. The Cougars used two of their second-half timeouts early in the third quarter to address offensive issues and at times seemed unnerved by the extremely rowdy crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Saturday night’s game was the first between the schools with both being members of the Big 12.
Brandon Rose started at QB for the Utes for the first time this season after freshman Isaac Wilson started in place of the injured Cameron Rising. Rose threw touchdowns to Brant Kuithe and Micah Bernard in that second quarter and finished the game 12-of-21 passing for 112 yards and one interception.
Utah’s defense was the main reason the Utes nearly pulled off the upset. Retzlaff was sacked three times and received multiple passes at the line of scrimmage. But the Utes couldn’t get the final stop they really needed after the offense faltered in the second half.
Utah led 21-10 at halftime thanks to three second-quarter touchdowns, but the offense was miserable in the final 30 minutes. Utah ran just 25 plays in the third and fourth quarters and five of the Utes’ six possessions lasted four plays or less.
Meanwhile, BYU is one of three undefeated power conference teams remaining along with Oregon and Indiana. Army is the only team outside of four power conferences without a loss.
And the win means the Cougars are one step closer to the Big 12 title game and could have a spot in the championship game with two more wins. The Cougars are 6-0 in conference play and a game ahead of second-place Colorado and four third-place teams. Wins over Kansas and Arizona State, one of the teams tied for third place, would allow the Cougars to clinch a spot in the title game heading into the final week of the season.