Utah AD: BYU game 'absolutely stolen from us' by refs

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan refused to accept a 22-21 loss to rival BYU on Saturday after a controversial penalty on the Cougars' final drive kept them alive.

"This game was absolutely stolen from us," Harlan said at an impromptu press conference. "We were excited about being in the Big 12 but, tonight, I'm not. We won this game, someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed, I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I'm disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight."

Utah had the game all but wrapped up, as BYU faced a fourth-and-10 while pinned inside its own 10-yard line, trailing 21-19 in the final two minutes. The Utes sacked Jake Retzlaff on the play, but the officials threw a flag for defensive holding, giving BYU a fresh set of downs.

A change in possession would've allowed the Utes to kneel until the clock ran out, as the Cougars had no timeouts left.

After the penalty, Retzlaff connected on a 30-yard pass to Chase Roberts and a 12-yard strike to Darius Lassiter. Then, a 14-yard run from Hinckley Ropati put BYU in field goal range. Will Ferrin converted a 44-yard try in the dying seconds to give the Cougars the win and keep them undefeated.

The outcome marked the first time BYU won in Salt Lake City since 2006. BYU, which is now 9-0, is looking to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time. The school was ranked ninth in the first CFP poll of the season.

Conference commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement that Harlan's comments "irresponsibly challenged the professionalism of (Big 12) officials and the integrity of the Big 12 conference," per Bryan Fischer of Sports Illustrated. Harlan was also fined $40,000 and could face larger financial penalties with repeat offenses.

BYU and Utah are both fairly new to the Big 12. Utah joined in 2024, jumping from the Pac-12 in the midst of major NCAA conference realignment. BYU entered in 2023 after several years as an FBS independent.