The play that drove Utah athletic director Mark Harlan to storm onto the field and declare he wasn’t happy to be in the Big 12 has a definitive answer.
Big 12 officials coordinator Greg Burks said the holding call that extended BYU’s game-winning drive against Utah was the right one, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
BYU had the ball near its goal line on a fourth down. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff looked to receiver JoJo Phillips, who was falling down, and ultimately took a sack in the end zone for what appeared to end the game. But the officials called a holding penalty on Utah’s Zemaiah Vaughn for tugging Phillips down, extending the drive.
BYU went on to kick a game-winning field goal. Harlan said the game was “stolen” from Utah. He was later fined $40,000 by the league, paid out of his own salary.
The Avalanche-Journal obtained a copy of the Big 12’s response to the University of Utah through an open records request about a separate matter. The newspaper published the report Friday.
Utah questioned six calls from the BYU-Utah game, The Avalanche-Journal reported. Burks said five of those calls were correct. One time, a player was misidentified on a penalty.
“QB looks to #5 immediately after the snap, as receiver moves to go around the defender, the defender grabs the receiver and prevents him from running his route. Correct call,” Burks said in response to Utah’s questioning of the call, according to The Avalanche-Journal.
This year, the series returns to Provo, where BYU last beat Utah in 2021.
But the 2024 chapter of the game is now closed.
