Brigham Young’s fourth-down play failed, Utah’s celebration began, and another undefeated team appeared to have lost on a wild Saturday in college football.
Then came the yellow flag. Defensive hold on the Utes. The Cougars get their first down.
And you knew the finish would be worthy of holy lore.
It was that, and so much more.
Given a second chance, quarterback Jake Retzlaff guided the Cougars on a 65-yard drive that set up Will Ferrin’s game-winning field goal with three seconds left.
Minutes after the Utes appeared to have won by two points, the Cougars rallied for a 22-21 victory in front of the largest crowd in Rice-Eccles Stadium history.
The majority of the 54,383 in attendance left in stunned silence as Brigham Young improved to 9-0 and remained on track to play in the Big 12 championship game.
Mark Harlan, Utah’s athletic director, did not remain silent, however. He walked into the postgame press conference and slammed the Big 12 officials.
“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited to be in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won the game. Someone stole it from us. I’m extremely disappointed. “I’ll talk to the commissioner.”
He did not explicitly state that the officials were attempting to protect Brigham Young’s undefeated record.
“This was not fair to our team,” he explained. “I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”
(Referee Kevin Mar used to work in the Pac-12 and is highly regarded.)
The Utes were clearly upset about what they saw as a late timeout given to Brigham Young just before the contentious fourth-down play. Harlan was almost certainly upset about cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn’s holding penalty while defending receiver Keelan Marion near the left sideline.
Retzlaff was sacked on fourth down at Brigham Young’s 1-yard line with 1:29 left.
The Cougars had used all of their downs and timeouts. The game was over. The Utes rejoiced—until they didn’t.
The penalty resulted in a first down for Brigham Young and extended the drive. Eight plays later, Ferrin hit the game-winning 44-yard field goal.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, whose team led 21-10 at halftime but did not score in the second half, was less direct in his criticism of the officials.
“Tough way to lose a game,” he said. “What an unfortunate way to lose a game…” The game was over, but then it wasn’t.
When asked about the controversial finish, Whittingham stated, “It’s a ridiculous situation, but I’m not going to get into it…” Things out there were ridiculous.
While watching a replay of the sequence, ESPN analyst Brock Osweiler observed that Vaughn “grabbed some jersey very early in the down” and that the penalty “was a really good call by the officials.”
Although the details differed, the finish was reminiscent of the Cougars’ thrilling escape against Oklahoma State three weeks ago, when they scored the winning touchdown with 10 seconds left.
Their unexpected success — the Cougars were ranked 13th in the Big 12 preseason poll — has occurred against the backdrop of history, on the 40th anniversary of the school’s sole national championship.
The Cougars are unlikely to repeat that feat. They are not on the same level as the best in the SEC or Big Ten. They may not be as good as Boise State. Given Colorado’s recent performance, they may not be the best team in the Big 12.
But none of this matters right now. Brigham Young remains unbeaten, and the Utes (4-5) are furious.
Additional thoughts on weekend developments in the region…
— Colorado’s dream of reaching the College Football Playoff, which is also ESPN’s dream, lives on after a convincing 41-27 victory over Texas Tech.
The Buffaloes looked like a Big 12 title contender, rallying from a 13-point deficit to win their third straight game.
Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback, threw for 291 yards, while Travis Hunter caught nine passes. But CU’s defense was the story, limiting the Red Raiders to two touchdowns over the final three quarters.
Notably, CU’s defense is allowing 12 fewer points per game than last year.
The Buffaloes (7-2/5-1) now have control of their destiny in the Big 12 race: win out and they will advance to the conference championship game.
They will be favored each week: Utah, Kansas, and Oklahoma State have a combined conference record of 3-16.
— As Colorado surges, Oregon State falters.
The Beavers lost their fourth straight game, 24-13 to San Jose State, gaining 474 yards but scoring only one touchdown.
What exactly went wrong? They had three turnovers and ten penalties and were repeatedly hammered by SJSU’s aerial game.
Overall, it was a miserable afternoon for Oregon State (4-5), which now needs to win two of its final three games to qualify for the bowl.
Two of the games are against Washington State (8-1) and Boise State (8-1).
Even if the Beavers beat Air Force next week, they must defeat either the Cougars or the Broncos to reach the six-win mark.
— Arizona State handled the absence of Cam Skattebo with ease.
It was a bit of a problem for the Sun Devils, who needed a late touchdown to defeat UCF 35-31 without their star tailback.
Skattebo missed his first game of the season on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury, and it showed. ASU averaged only 3.1 yards per carry and did not have a run longer than 14 yards.
But quarterback Sam Leavitt threw three touchdown passes and led the game-winning drive midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Devils their seventh win in nine games.
It’s quite a turnaround in Tempe, where seven losses in nine games seemed reasonable when coach Kenny Dillingham’s second season began.
— The why-even-bother award for Week 11 goes to Washington, which traveled across the country for the fourth time this season only to be annihilated by Penn State.
Despite reasonably favorable circumstances—the Nittany Lions were coming off a heartbreaking loss to Ohio State—the Huskies were unable to capitalize on their opportunity, losing 35-6.
The in-game reality was far worse than the final score indicates. Penn State did what it wanted from the start, leading 28-0 at halftime, converting 10-of-13 third down attempts, and outgaining the Huskies by 293 yards.
UW’s first season in the Big Ten concludes with an 0-4 record in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, including losses to Rutgers (21-18), Iowa (40-16), Indiana (31-17), and the Nittany Lions.
As a result, the Huskies (5-5) must defeat either UCLA, which has won three straight, or undefeated Oregon in order to qualify for a bowl game.
