Utah AD rips officials at BYU rallies – game 'stolen from us'

SALT LAKE CITY – Much of the BYU football team was still on the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium celebrating a miraculous 22-21 win over rival Utah late Saturday night when Utes athletics director Mark Harlan made a surprise appearance at the post-match press conference game occurred.

In a fiery speech, Harlan disparaged the officiating team and questioned the validity of his school's loss.

“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited to be in the Big 12, but tonight I’m not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.”

“I will speak to the commissioner. That wasn't fair to our team. I am disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating team tonight.”

Harlan, who does not regularly address the media after games, did not answer questions or elaborate on details following his stunning rebuke.

However, it's a safe assumption that Harlan's disdain was directed at a hold call against cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn that negated Utah's fourth-down sack of BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff at the Cougars' 1-yard line with 1:29 left did, which apparently ended the game.

“Whatever decision the referees make, I don’t think they’re trying to do anything wrong, so that’s just part of the game,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “The referees are part of the game. We were able to capitalize on that.”

Utah's alleged ejection of Rezlaff marked the second time that the largest crowd in Rice-Eccles history (54,383) thought the game was actually over. Before the fourth play, BYU snapped the ball and Retzlaff was flushed out of the end zone, but Sitake had called a timeout before the snap, likely saving the game.

After the holding call gave the Cougars new life, Retzlaff hit Chase Roberts for 30 yards and Darius Lassiter for 12 yards before Hinckley Ropati ran 14 yards to put BYU in position for Will Ferrin's game-winning 44-yard field goal bring .

Ferrin, who transferred from Boise State to BYU after the 2022 season, calmly split the uprights to add another legendary finish to a rivalry game that featured several such uprights.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was visibly upset with the on-field referees after the game, but was measured in his postgame comments.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t get to the last stop when we needed it,” he said. “That was the story of several games, so to speak.”

The win leaves No. 9 BYU (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) undefeated and in prime position to qualify for the College Football Playoff. With three conference games remaining against Kansas, Arizona State and Houston, the Cougars lead Colorado by one game in the Big 12 standings. Four other teams – Iowa State, Kansas State, Arizona State and West Virginia – have two conference losses.

Retzlaff went 15 of 33 for 219 yards without a touchdown pass or interception. It is BYU's second straight win in the series – following a 26-17 win in 2021 – but the Cougars' first win in Salt Lake City since 2006.

This was the first time the rivals played as conference opponents since 2010. After that, Utah joined the Pac-12 and BYU became independent.