BYU coach Kalani Sitake kept his composure on Saturday, even though he had to wait about 15 minutes to run a final Hail Mary play after Arizona State’s student section rushed the field too soon in the Cougars’ loss.
No. 21 Arizona State defeated No. 14 BYU 28-23 in a game that ended with some confusion.
“I hate getting mad at the fans — they’re so excited to get the win,” Sitake said.
The Sun Devils seemed to have secured the victory with 1:04 left when Javan Robinson intercepted the ball, but Arizona State’s offense stalled on the next drive. With 7 seconds left, Sam Leavitt of Arizona State threw the ball out of bounds on fourth down.
Thinking the game was over, Arizona State’s student section rushed the field in celebration. However, officials ruled that there was still 1 second left on the clock, so BYU would get the ball back at their own 49-yard line with a chance to attempt a Hail Mary.
The problem was that the field was already crowded with fans, and it took some time for them to clear out. This was one of the biggest home games for Arizona State (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) in a decade, and the stadium was sold out with 55,400 fans.
Many fans couldn’t get back to their seats in time, so most stood around the edges of the field for the final play.
Sitake asked the officials to call an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Arizona State, but the officials told him that the Big 12 Conference had ruled no penalty would be called. The extra yards might have helped, as BYU’s Jake Retzlaff’s last pass fell a few yards short of the end zone and was incomplete.
“I don’t know — that was a conference decision,” Sitake said.
Sitake wasn’t upset with the officiating crew, as he said they communicated well. It was a tough loss for the Cougars (9-2, 6-2), who likely saw their College Football Playoff hopes end.
“I was trying to cling onto as much hope as I could,” Sitake said. “It’s OK. None of our guys were hurt. There was no big issue there. They eventually cleared it and we were able to get that one play. I understand the fans’ excitement and energy.”
“They weren’t too rude to us, just excited about their win.”
Premature field celebrations aren’t rare in college football. Just two weeks ago, Mississippi fans had to be removed from the field during their upset win over Georgia.
