BYU-Washington: No. 15 Cougars Escape Husky Stadium With 28-27 Win

Usually when a team blocks a field goal, it is regarded as a great play of desire and effort.  In last year's Las Vegas bowl, the BYU Cougars did just that on the final play to end the game and edge UCLA, 17-16.

But on Saturday, when BYU again made a huge play on special teams and blocked the 35-yard extra point to seal a 28-27 win over Washington, there was a much different tone coming from fans and commentators alike.

The really sad thing is that this was a great, hard-fought football game.  BYU showcased how good they really are on the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterback Max Hall looked extremely sharp for the second straight week, throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns.  I really think that he is a dark horse this year for the Heisman trophy if he continues to play this way.

Running back Harvey Unga ran the ball 23 times for 136 yards as the BYU offensive line dominated the Huskies' front men the entire game, opening lanes for Unga and keeping Hall comfortable.

Tight end Dennis Pitta had another 100-plus yard game, finishing with 148 yards on 10 catches.  Pitta is emerging as one of the top tight ends in all of college football.  In just two games he has 21 catches for 361 yards and one touchdown.

Washington looked much improved from the team that got spanked last week by Oregon 44-10.  Jake Locker completed 17 of 32 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown.  He also rushed for 68 yards and one touchdown.  But that was not enough to upset the BCS-minded Cougars.

The Cougars hadn't won a road game against a BCS conference team since beating Mississippi St. in 2001.  Critics have been skeptical of BYU's chances of making a BCS run because of this streak.

In the fourth quarter, things looked like they were about to swing in the Cougars' favor when BYU had the ball in the red zone.  But a Harvey Unga fumble on the one-yard line ended the drive and gave UW a sigh of relief.

However, the BYU defense held and gave Max Hall a chance to give the Cougars the lead.  Hall led the Cougars down the field and finished the drive with a 15-yard toss to Dennis Pitta with 3:32 left on the clock.

The next few minutes saw Locker miss open receivers but make up for it by scrambling for first downs and converting on a 4th-and-10 on a 13-yard scamper.  Then, with only two seconds left and the ball on the BYU three-yard line, Locker again found himself slipping past BYU defenders and stumbling into the end zone.

Now this is where it gets interesting.  When Locker got up to celebrate what looked like a classic finish, he threw the ball high in the air—and almost immediately a yellow flag followed.  The call was unsportsmanlike conduct, and a 15-yard penalty was assessed to the PAT.

"It's unfortunate, but it's one that they almost have to call," Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham said.  "It really should be a no-call, but it's one that they have to call when they see it."

On the PAT try, BYU got a huge push up the middle, and defensive end Jan Jorgensen was able to get a hand on it and block the kick.  The Cougars snapped their road losing streak against BCS opponents and escaped a hard-fought game with a 28-27 win.

The hard part about this is that, as a BYU fan, I'm ecstatic because this was a huge win for the Cougars—but as a college football fan, I'm sickened by it.

Locker wasn't trying to taunt anyone—he just led his team down the field and gave them a chance to win the game.  As a result of all the emotion, he threw the ball in the air.

I don't see the problem with that at all because the emotion and passion of the game is what separates college sports from professional sports.  When you penalize a young man for showing his emotion, you hurt the game.

I do not blame the officials because they did their jobs and followed the rule.  The rule is you cannot throw the ball in the air, period.  It's like the speed limit: You may not like it, but it is still a rule.

And for those who are saying the official was just thinking of how to get involved and affect the outcome, look at the game tape.  These were Pac-10 officials, and there were blown calls on both sides all game.

In my opinion, it was extremely one-sided in Washington's favor, but that is part of the game!  Sometimes you get good breaks, and sometimes you get bad ones.

I blame the board that made this rule how it is.  Hopefully this rule will be changed in a hurry because it will only hurt the game.

Nevertheless, when a penalty is called, you still need to be able to execute on special teams.  The penalty did not take away the PAT and automatically give BYU the win.

Yes, it made it more difficult, but the last time I checked, a 35-yard field goal, dead center in the middle of the field, isn't exactly hard either.  Good kickers make that 99 percent of the time, and Washington has a good kicker in Ryan Perkins.

A big play was still needed to either tie the game for Washington or win the game for BYU, and BYU made the big play when it was needed.  That is what great teams do: They make the big plays at the right time.

Next week BYU will play host to UCLA in Provo.  This is arguably the toughest challenge the Cougars will see until they play Utah at the end of the season.