Big 12 Concedes Replay Error in BYU's 27-20 Win

The Big 12 conference confirmed a scoring error in Saturday's football game.

The league acknowledged that its replay crew made a mistake during the contest between No. 7 BYU and Arizona State. The error resulted in a touchdown for BYU in a 27-20 victory.

In the first quarter, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier ran from the 1-yard line. He fumbled the ball, and teammate Sione Moa recovered it to score a touchdown. Initial on-field officials ruled Bachmeier down short of the goal line. A subsequent replay review changed that call to a fumble, and a second review determined Moa had scored.

The core issue involved the timing of the whistle. A team cannot advance the ball after a blown whistle. The initial ruling that Bachmeier was down short of the goal line triggered the whistle before the fumble recovery was fully processed for advancement purposes.

A Big 12 statement cited Rule 12-3-3-d-2 in its explanation. The document stated that the replay was incorrect in awarding the score. The correct ruling should have been a third and goal from the 2-yard line for BYU.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham voiced frustration immediately after the call and again during postgame interviews. He argued that while a player can recover the ball after the whistle, it does not count as a clear advancement. Dillingham said the ball should have been placed at the 3-yard line. He noted that the officials on the field had no control over the final decision, which came from the conference headquarters.

BYU, now 7-1 and 4-1 in conference play, has faced inconsistent officiating recently. In a 28-24 win over Notre Dame, pass interference could have been called on the final play, which occurred after an extra second ran off the clock. In a 39-31 double-overtime loss at UCF, officials issued a 10-second run-off for a helmet removal and a penalty for running into the kicker.