Utah athletics director Mark Harlan could be called into the commissioner’s office this week.

Harlan took charge of the game late Saturday after the Utes lost 22-21 to rival BYU on Utah’s home court.

“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited about getting into the Big 12, but tonight I’m not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.”

The Utes, used to being in the mix at the top of the Pac-12 standings, are struggling in their first year in the Big 12 at 4-5 overall, 1-5 in the conference.

Utah held onto a 21-19 lead for most of the fourth quarter after a BYU touchdown at the 12:35 mark of the final frame. And twice late in the quarter the Utes appeared to be on their way to victory.

Although Harlan did not mention a specific call that particularly angered him, it likely occurred in the last two minutes.

With 1:56 to go, BYU took possession at the 9-yard line, and quarterback Jake Retzlaff fired three straight incomplete passes. The Cougars called a timeout, and on the ensuing fourth-and-10 play, Retzlaff was sacked for a loss that put the ball on the BYU 1-yard line with about 90 seconds left.

But a holding penalty on Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn gave BYU new life and the ball at 19.

Retzlaff took advantage, completing passes of 30 yards and 12 yards, and running back Hinckley Ropati’s 14-yard run got the ball to the Utah 25 with 1:07 on the clock.

A false start penalty on BYU sent the ball back to the Utah 30, and the Cougars spent the next three plays positioning the ball and running out the clock to set up Will Ferrin for a 44-yard field goal attempt. which he hit with just three seconds left.

“I’ll talk to the commissioner. This wasn’t fair to our team,” Harlan said. “I am disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating tonight.”

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was angry with the officials on the field but allowed his boss to address the officiating postgame.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t get that last stop when we needed it,” Whittingham said. “That’s the story of several games.”

BYU coach Kalani Sitake said referees come with the territory.

“Whatever decision the officials make, I don’t think they’re trying to get it wrong, so that’s just part of the game,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “The referees are part of the game. We were able to respond to that.”

With the victory, which came in front of the largest crowd (54,383) ever at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, No. 9 BYU moved to 9-0, 6-0 in the conference to be firmly in the mix remain for a College Berth Football Playoff.

The game marked the first time the in-state rivals played as conference opponents since 2010, when the teams left the Mountain West Conference.

–Field-level media