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Big 12 admits officials botched two calls that helped BYU beat Arizona State
ReBig 12 admits officials botched two calls that helped BYU beat Arizona State
The Big 12 Conference acknowledged officiating errors in BYU's recent wins, including a clock mistake against Notre Dame and a bad touchdown ruling against Arizona State.
The Big 12 Conference has acknowledged that officials made errors in two recent BYU games, with one mistake in particular helping the Cougars hold off Notre Dame. In a statement, the conference said the replay crew wrongly cleared the final play of the Notre Dame game, even though time remained on the clock when the ball hit the ground.
In the Notre Dame game at home, BYU led 28-24 after quarterback Bear Bachmeier found tight end Walker Lyons with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter. The Irish drove down the field, converting a six-yard pass on fourth-and-5 to reach the 8-yard line with four seconds remaining. C.J. Carr's pass fell incomplete, and fans rushed the field. Viewers, however, noticed the stadium game clock read 0:01 as the ball hit the turf, which meant Notre Dame should have been allowed one more play.
The conference said in its statement that the play was incorrectly cleared by the replay officiating crew and that it would conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process before the following week's games. BYU still would have had a chance to stop the Irish on a final snap, but the officiating error gave the Cougars a clear benefit.
A similar issue arose the following week at UCF. With the game tied 24-24 and 11 seconds left, the Knights lined up for a third-down field goal attempt. Kicker Will Stone's attempt was blocked without crossing the line of scrimmage, and Stone recovered the ball himself. As he was tackled, his helmet came off, and officials threw a flag for a BYU facemask, then picked it up. Officials also applied a 10-second runoff for the helmet coming off, even though, according to rules analysts, that runoff is required only when the helmet is the reason for the stoppage. Terry McAulay said the clock also stopped because of a "legal kick down," meaning the runoff should not have been applied. Rather than giving UCF another game-winning field goal try, the game went to overtime.
BYU ultimately lost in double overtime, and officiating played a role in that outcome as well. After Stone's field goal put UCF ahead 34-31, BYU's Kendall Wall was flagged for roughing the kicker. That penalty gave UCF a first-and-goal, which it converted for a touchdown and then a two-point conversion. BYU had four tries from the four-yard line in overtime but came up empty, and UCF completed the upset.
The most recent error came in BYU's home game against Arizona State on Halloween. In the first quarter, Bachmeier attempted to run in from the one-yard line but fumbled immediately after the snap. Sione Moa recovered the ball and carried it into the end zone. Replay confirmed that Bachmeier had fumbled and that Moa had scored, but the whistle had blown on the play to signal that Bachmeier was down, and once that happens a fumbled ball cannot be advanced. The review crew nonetheless awarded the touchdown.
The conference issued another statement acknowledging the mistake. "Replay was incorrect in awarding a score," the statement read. "The correct ruling should have been BYU ball for a third-and-goal from the 2-yard line." Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham criticized the call during and after the game. "I was trying to argue that he does have the right to recover it post-whistle, but that's not a clear advancement, which means the ball should be at the three," he said. "Obviously, that wasn't what happened. It's not the officials' fault. Those officials don't have say in that. That's all back home."
The errors do not appear to be intentional, but they add to a broader debate about officiating in college football. Over a full season, questionable calls tend to balance out, but several high-profile mistakes involving the same program within a short span draw attention. BYU faces another major test this Saturday, when it travels to play its rival.
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