Mark Harlan, the athletic director for Utah, made an unexpected appearance at the postgame press conference following the Utes’ narrow 22-21 defeat to BYU, ranked No. 9. He clearly expressed his frustrations regarding the officiating during the game.

During the press conference, Harlan voiced his discontent with the referees’ performance in the loss at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Having overseen Utah athletics since 2018, he questioned the fairness of the outcome and criticized the officials’ decisions.

“This game was completely taken from us,” Harlan remarked. “We were looking forward to our new chapter in the Big 12, but not after this night. We deserved to win, but it feels like it was taken away from us. I’m very disappointed.”

“I intend to reach out to the commissioner about this. It was unjust for our team, and I’m appalled at the level of professionalism shown by the officiating crew tonight.”

Utah’s transition to the Big 12 resulted from a significant shift from the Pac-12, and this season marks their inaugural experience as a part of the conference. After delivering his statement, Harlan refrained from answering media queries and didn’t provide further details about the controversial calls he referenced.

A key questionable decision could have been a holding penalty called on Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn during a crucial fourth down at BYU’s 1-yard line with just 1:29 left in the game. The infraction negated a key sack on BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, which could have secured the victory for the Utes.

Following the penalty, BYU moved the ball into scoring position, allowing kicker Will Ferrin to successfully hit a 44-yard field goal, sealing the win for the Cougars. With this victory, BYU improves to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Big 12 play, keeping their hopes alive for a place in the 12-team College Football Playoff.