Utah athletic director Mark Harlan could find himself called into the commissioner’s office this week.
Harlan blasted the officiating late Saturday after the Utes lost to rival BYU, 22-21, on Utah’s home field.
“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.”
The Utes, accustomed to being in the mix atop the Pac-12 standings, are struggling in their first year in the Big 12 at 4-5 overall, 1-5 in the conference.
Utah clung to a 21-19 led for most of the fourth quarter after a BYU touchdown at the 12:35 mark of the final frame. And twice late in the quarter, the Utes looked as if they were headed to the win.
While Harlan didn’t specify a call that riled him in particular, it likely occurred in the final two minutes.
With 1:56 left, BYU took possession on its 9-yard line, and quarterback Jake Retzlaff fired three straight incomplete passes. The Cougars called a timeout, and on the ensuing fourth-and-10 play, Retzlaff was sacked for a loss that put the ball on the BYU 1-yard-line with about 90 seconds to go.
But a holding penalty called on Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn gave BYU new life and the ball at its 19.
Retzlaff took advantage, completing passes of 30 yards and 12 yards, and running back Hinckley Ropati’s 14-yard run took the ball to the Utah 25 with 1:07 on the clock.
A false start penalty on BYU sent the ball back to the Utah 30, and the Cougars spent the next three plays positioning the ball and running down the clock to give Will Ferrin a 44-yard field-goal attempt. which he hit with just three seconds left.
“I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team,” Harlan said. “I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was angry with officials on the field but let his boss address the officiating postgame.
“Couldn’t get that last stop when we needed it, unfortunately,” Whittingham said. “That’s kind of been the story for several games.”
BYU coach Kalani Sitake said refereeing comes with the territory.
“Whatever decision the refs make, I don’t think they’re trying to get it wrong, so that’s just part of the game,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “The refs are part of the game. We were able to capitalize on that.”
With the win, which came before the largest crowd (54,383) ever at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, No. 9 BYU moved to 9-0, 6-0 in the conference, to stay firmly in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth.
The game marked the first time the in-state rivals have played as conference opponents since 2010 when the teams left the Mountain West Conference.
