The Big 12 has admitted that its officiating crew made a mistake during replay review that awarded then-No. 8 BYU a touchdown in its 27-20 victory over Arizona State on Saturday.
In the first quarter, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier tried to score on a run from the 1-yard line, which instead resulted in a fumble. Teammate Sione Moa picked up the ball and advanced for a touchdown.
Bachmeier was originally ruled down short of the goal line. Replay review ruled that Bachmeier had fumbled, and a second review determined Moa scored.
The error revolved around a team not being allowed to advance the ball following a blown whistle, the initial ruling on the field that determined Bachmeier was down.
“Replay was incorrect in awarding a score,” a Big 12 statement read, citing Rule 12-3-3-d-2. “The correct ruling should have been BYU ball for a third-and-goal from the 2-yard line.”
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham expressed his displeasure about the call in the immediate aftermath of the call and then again in postgame sessions with reporters.
“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 3,” Dillingham 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.”
BYU (7-1, 4-1 Big 12), now ranked No. 7, has both benefitted from and been harmed by questionable officiating the past three weeks. In the Cougars’ 28-24 landmark win over Notre Dame, pass interference could have been called on the game’s final play, which was the final play only because an extra second ran off the game clock.
The Cougars’ subsequent 39-31 double-overtime loss at UCF featured a bizarre 10-second run-off for a removed helmet and a dubious running-into-the-kicker penalty.