“I hate getting mad at the fans.”
Those were the first words out of BYU head coach Kalani Sitake’s mouth after BYU lost to Arizona State 28-23 on Saturday in Week 13 of the Big 12 football season.
There was a 15 minute delay of game as Arizona State fans, who had stormed the field thinking the game was over, had to be escorted off the field and back into the stands, so BYU could try a Hail Mary with :01 second remaining.
Sitake went on to say, “They’re [Arizona State fans] so excited. It’s two ranked teams that are playing… it’s OK. None of our guys are hurt. There was no issue there. They eventually cleared it. And we were able to get that one play. I understand the fans excitement and energy and it’s OK. They’re excited about their win.”
Related: Three Takeaways From Arizona State’s 28-23 Win Over BYU
But it was the Arizona State’s decisions leading up to the BYU Hail Mary attempt that could have resulted in lots of second guessing, had things ended differently.
Arizona State was on the BYU three-yard line up by five and instead of scoring, the Sun Devils tried to run out the clock by losing yards and running around. Eventually, Arizona State faced a fourth and goal from the BYU 49-yard line with just a few seconds left. Quarterback Sam Leavitt did his best to kill some time and sailed the ball out of bounds.
When the ball landed out of bounds, it looked like there may have been some time left on the clock. But before the officials were able to review it, fans had already rushed the field and the goal posts were coming down. Eventually the officials reviewed the play and determined that there was one second left on the clock. This led to the BYU Hail Mary attempt, which came up short.
BYU ends the season next week against Houston, with still a chance to make the Big 12 Championship Game the following week in Arlington.
