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PROVO — As the referees left the field of the BYU-Utah game, fans showered them with ice, soda, and popcorn to protest — what they felt — was a poorly officiated game.
"I thought the officiating was great," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. "I thought they did a great job and officiated the game well."
This is not a surprising comment from the winning team, nor is it surprising that the losing team had some frustrations.
The officials were a Pac-12 crew, infamous for their botched handling of the final seconds of the Wisconsin-Arizona State game when they lackadaisically spotted the ball for Wisconsin when time ran out, preventing Wisconsin from attempting a game-winning field goal.
They were officially reprimanded by the Pac-12 and commissioner Larry Scott said he was taking "additional sanctions" against the officials.
@davenoriega@kslsports the Pac 12's call to let this group officiate after the ASU/Wisc fiasco. They should have been suspended 5 games. — James Tanner (@jamtan5960) September 22, 2013
Already on probation by the fans, every borderline call was closely scrutinized by players, fans and coaches. Both teams had reasons to be frustrated, but the Cougars were the most vocal — for obvious reasons.
Social media had a field day with the much maligned refs. At the end of the game, fans hurled things at BYU-Utah refs as they left. The YouTube video has nearly 80,000 views in less than 24 hours of being posted.
It's also been a hot topic on Twitter. Here's a sampling of plays, tweets and post-game quotes regarding the officiating.
Early in the second quarter, Scott Arellano boomed a 59-yard punt that bounced near Utah punt returner Geoff Norwood. Many thought Norwood had touched the ball, with BYU's Michael Alisa recovering the muffed punt. The officials said the ball never touched Norwood.
Alisa saw it differently: "I was 10 yards away from it and from what I saw — we'll see on the film — I wasn't just acting, I genuinely thought that it was a muffed punt and that it was down where I caught it."
On twitter, Jared Scoresby agreed:
@davenoriega the punt Utah dropped and byu recovered for a touchdown. Somehow the returners hands no longer count as touching? — Jared Scoresby (@jrscoresby) September 22, 2013
BYU fans weren't alone in their head-scratching, Ute fans disagreed with calls as well. In the fourth quarter, Alisa had a 1-yard touchdown dive that closed the Utah lead to 20-13.
The officials reviewed the play, but didn't overturn the play. Todd Barrow disagreed:
@davenoriega@kslsports When Michael Alisa's elbow was obviously down before he got into the end zone but they give him the TD anyway. — Todd G Barrow (@toddgbarrow) September 22, 2013
Adam Hine had a 102-yard kickoff return called back on what David Scott Allerman called a "phantom hold."
@davenoriega phantom hold on kick return. The discrepancies in what was considered pass interference for byu and not utah — Davey Scott Alleman (@AllemanDavey) September 22, 2013
As the clock ran out and Taysom Hill hefted a long pass toward the sideline for wideout Mitch Mathews was involved in a little bumping.
"I think it was more than bumping," said head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Was it pass interference?
"That's what I thought," Mendenhall said.
Few games are decided by referees — that's not to say they don't play a role — but games are usually won or lost by the players on the field. Coaching, weather and injuries play a role, but it is unfair to put a loss on one thing or one person.
However, that doesn't mean that referees are immune to the wrath of fans — an occupational hazard they know and accept — but, throwing things is clearly outside the bounds of acceptable behavior.
Rob Dansie saw it differently:
@davenoriega@kslsports the refs were well deserving of everything that was thrown at them. #karma — Rob Dansie (@robdansie) September 22, 2013
Riley Yeates was unsympathetic to the fans complaints:
@davenoriega@kslsports Utah had more penalties also! Excuses are like.... — Riley Yeates (@RileyYeates) September 22, 2013
I don't expect any repercussions for the fans' misbehavior, but for those seeking punishment — no worries — BYU fans will have a two-year timeout.
On a side note, congrats to the throwers, they were one of the few Cougars in that stadium to actually hit their target.
