Utah athletic director Mark Harlan claimed the game was stolen.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake thought it was all part of the game.
“That’s the game of football. You can’t hold people, you know?” the coach said after beating the rival Utes 22-21.
When Utah sacked Jake Retzlaff with under two minutes to play in this weekend’s rivalry game, an official threw a defensive holding penalty that gave the Cougars new life. Instead of a turnover on downs, Retzlaff used his second chance to drive 65 yards into Utah territory and set up the game-winning field goal.
Harlan was more than displeased by the officiating — saying he was not happy to be in the Big 12 Conference because of it. Those remarks earned the athletics director a $40,000 fine.
In the aftermath of the game’s chaos, an admittedly biased Sitake saw things differently than his rivals.
The coach said he sensed there could be a holding call when the play ended. Utah’s defense — which he once ran under head coach Kyle Whittingham — is known to be physical and use hand fighting on the outside. It can lead to penalties.
BYU wide receiver Keelan Marion appeared to have been contacted, causing him to stumble on the play before the flag was thrown.
“I’m always checking the field for penalties. So when I saw the flag, I figured it could be [holding],” Sitake said. “We play a similar defense [as Utah]. You’ve heard Kyle before. We’ve learned a lot from him and the system we were able to work with. So we know that it can sometimes be really handsy.”
He continued, “I’m glad we got the call. Don’t know what else to say about it. ... I didn’t see it [at the time] because I’m not watching the whole field. But I’ll take a look at it and I’m sure we can find some other holdings that were there that weren’t called. That’s just the game sometimes.”
Sitake thought the officials may have missed a call earlier in the evening against BYU. Linebacker Isaiah Glasker was called for a face mask on quarterback Brandon Rose when it looked like he only grabbed his shirt. The penalty set Utah up for a first-half score.
“I’m a biased person. They said it was a face mask when Isaiah [Glasker] grabbed the shirt. But you just have to live with whatever decision the ref makes,” Sitake said. “I don’t think they are trying to get it wrong. That’s just part of the game. The refs are part of the game. I’m glad we were able to capitalize on that and make a play.”
