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Kalani Sitake and the BYU football team's College Football Playoff hopes likely went up in smoke yesterday with a loss to Arizona State, which hung on despite a bizarre and confusing scene in Tempe.
The Cougars fell 28-23 to Big 12 foe Arizona State after a premature rushing of the field by the ASU fans, which Sitake argued to the game's officials should have resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Had it been called, BYU would have taken over on downs from the Sun Devils' 36-yard line, making Jake Retzlaff's last-second hail-mary throw much easier.
In the end, though, no penalty was called and Retzlaff's completed pass fell a few yards short of the end zone. With the win finally official, the Arizona State fans stormed the field once again.
Sitake, whose team has now lost two in a row after beginning the season 9-0, did not use the late drama as an excuse for the Cougars' defeat.
“This game didn't come down to that,” said Sitake, who claimed he was told by the officials that the Big 12 ruled there would be no unsportsmanlike penalty. “That's just the game. This ref crew was awesome; they communicated well with me. We had a chance to snap the ball from the 49. We would have loved to have it closer, but that's just the game. The game wasn't won or lost in that moment. It was the 59 minutes and 59 seconds before.”
BYU falls in chaotic, critical Big 12 game vs. Arizona State
With a 28-23 lead, Arizona State tried — but failed — to burn the remainder of the clock with its last offensive possession. In particular, a fourth-down play during which ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt heaved the ball up and out of bounds left one second for the Cougars. However, the clock initially read 0:00, giving the notoriously rowdy Arizona State students reason to storm the field.
The Sun Devils supporters flooded the field and began celebrating their critical Big 12 win. But upon further review, it was determined that Leavitt's sky-high pass actually touched out of bounds with a second left, necessitating all of the fans to exit the field so BYU could attempt a hail mary.
The throw fell two yards short of the end zone and the Cougars fell for the second time in as many weeks, possibly ending any chance BYU had of making its first CFP appearance.
After winning each of its first nine games this season, BYU now has losses to Kansas and Arizona State on its record. Fortunately for the Cougars, though, the top of the Big 12 is a mess; nine teams can still qualify for the conference championship game, including the four with 6-2 conference records who are now tied for first place.
A win next week vs. Houston is, in reality, a must for the Cougars to have a chance to make it to the Big 12 title game. They should also be hoping for some season-finale chaos involving Arizona State (which plays at Arizona), Colorado (vs. Oklahoma State), and Iowa State (vs. Kansas State) since they are tied atop the conference with the trio of teams.
If all four teams, including BYU, win next week, the Cougars would miss the Big 12 Championship Game as a result of a tiebreaker based on strength of conference schedule, according to The Athletic. Iowa State would get the nod instead of BYU and play Arizona State for the conference title.
