Utah AD Harlan 'Disgusted' with Refs After BYU Loss: Win 'Absolutely Stolen from Us'

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan did not hold back following his team's controversial 22-21 loss to rival BYU on Saturday.

"This game was absolutely stolen from us," Harlan said after the game, per ESPN's Kyle Bonagura. "We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.

"I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I'm disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight."

The Big 12 fined Harlan $40,000 as a result of his comments and "will issue a public reprimand," according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.

The comments came after a controversial finish. It appeared the Utes all but clinched the upset victory with a fourth-down sack of quarterback Jake Retzlaff at BYU's 1-yard line with 1:29 left, but the officials called defensive holding to preserve the drive. BYU ended up driving down the field from there and kicked the winning field goal in the final seconds.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake took a different tone and said, "Whatever decision the refs make, I don't think they're trying to get it wrong, so that's just part of the game. The refs are part of the game. We were able to capitalize on that."

The Cougars still had to put together a lengthy drive even after the penalty and did so behind multiple key completions from Retzlaff. Will Ferrin then drilled the 44-yard field goal and sent the BYU sideline into celebration mode.

It was another blow for Utah, which was expected to compete in the Big 12 in its first season in the conference after winning double-digit games in two of its final three years in the Pac-12.

Instead, the Utes are 4-5 overall and 1-5 in league play as they battle through injuries to quarterback Cameron Rising and others. They will need to win two of their final three games to become bowl eligible, and they are all challenging contests against Colorado, Iowa State and UCF.

The overall picture looks much better for BYU, which improved to 9-0 on the campaign and controls its own destiny for a Big 12 title and spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field.

It was No. 9 overall in the initial set of CFP rankings but also checked in at No. 4 in the projected bracket since the four highest-ranked conference champions will receive first-round byes and top-four seeds.

The Cougars are 6-0 in the conference and one game ahead of 5-1 Colorado in the Big 12 standings. As long as they win two of their final three games against Kansas, Arizona State and Houston, they will be playing for a CFP spot in the conference title game.

That would give them even more bragging rights over their in-state rivals after Saturday's controversial victory.