One of the most controversial results of this college football season came late on Saturday night when BYU mounted a big comeback on the road to beat Utah in the Holy War 22-21. The win kept BYU's undefeated season going at 9-0 and will likely keep it in the top 10 when the next College Football Playoff Rankings are released on Tuesday night.
Utah football seemed to be in control of the game throughout, all the way down to BYU's final drive of the night. In the final minute, Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff was sacked on fourth-and-10, seemingly ending the game.
However, the officials called a controversial defensive holding call on Utah, extending the drive. BYU football subsequently marched down the field and kicked a field goal to win the game.
Opinions were flying from all corners after the call was made, and the discussion will certainly continue all throughout the week. On Monday, FOX broadcaster Joel Klatt gave his take on the call on The Joel Klatt Show.
“My issue with the call on Saturday against Utah is that it clearly was inconsistent,” Klatt said. “It's not that I thought it was or wasn't (holding) because it is a gray area. If anyone tells you that it's textbook this or textbook that, they're lying to you. That is a 50-50 call. So what matters — and this is the only thing that matters — is what was allowed to happen the rest of the game.”
BYU continues on unbeaten path after Holy War victory
It looked like BYU was going to suffer its first loss on Saturday night, but it was able to come through to move to 9-0 on the season. With the win and another loss by Iowa State, BYU is nearly assured of a spot in the Big 12 title game and a chance to earn an automatic spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
While the level of play from the Cougars on Saturday night didn't exactly resemble that of a title contender, it's always difficult to play your best football on the road in a big rivalry game, especially in such a hostile environment.
Still, BYU will have to play at a higher level on Saturday against a hot Kansas team that hasn't had the season it envisioned but is very talented and is starting to click at the right time. If the Cougars can get through that one, they will have games against Arizona State and Houston to close out the season before the conference title game.
Throughout the season, this BYU team has shown that it just knows how to win games. It has pulled off a couple of miraculous victories in games that it felt like it had no business winning, including on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. Sometimes teams just have some magic about them, and this BYU group could be one of those teams.
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