SALT LAKE CITY – Much of the BYU football team was still on the Rice-Eccles Stadium field late Saturday night celebrating a miraculous 22-21 victory against rival Utah when Utes athletic director Mark Harlan made a surprise appearance at the post-season news conference the match.

In a fiery speech, Harlan belittled the officiating crew and challenged the validity of his school’s loss.

“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.”

‘I’ll talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I am disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating tonight.”

Harlan, who does not regularly address the media after games, did not answer questions after his reprimand or go into further detail.

It’s a safe assumption, however, that Harlan’s scorn was directed at a holding call on cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn, which negated Utah’s fourth down of BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff at the Cougars’ 1-yard line with 1:29 remaining. ended the game.

“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.”

Utah’s would-be sack of Retzlaff marked the second time the largest crowd in Rice-Eccles history (54,383) thought the game was effectively over. Before the fourth down play, BYU snapped the ball and Retzlaff was flushed out of the end zone, but Sitake had called a timeout before the snap, likely saving the game.

After the Cougars breathed new life into the holding call, Retzlaff hit Chase Roberts for 30 yards and Darius Lassiter for 12 yards before Hinckley Ropati ran 14 yards to get BYU in position for Will Ferrin’s game-winning 44-yard field goal.

Ferrin, who transferred from Boise State to BYU after the 2022 season, calmly split the uprights to add another legendary finish to a rivalry game that has had several.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was visibly angry with the on-field officials after the game, but it was measured by his post-game comments.

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

The win leaves No. 9 BYU (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) undefeated and in prime position to qualify for the College Football Playoff. With three conference games remaining (against Kansas, Arizona State and Houston), the Cougars lead Colorado by one game in the Big 12 standings. Four other teams – Iowa State, Kansas State, Arizona State and West Virginia – have two conference losses.

Retzlaff finished 15 of 33 for 219 yards without a touchdown pass or interception. It’s BYU’s second straight win in the series — following a 26-17 victory in 2021 — but the Cougars’ first win in Salt Lake City since 2006.

This marked the first time the rivals played as conference opponents since 2010, after which Utah left the Mountain West for the Pac-12 and BYU became independent.