‘Just Making Up Rules as They Go,’ ‘ASU Got Hosed’ — Robert Griffin III, Analysts Rip Big 12 Officials After Second Review Gives BYU TD vs. Arizona State

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‘Just Making Up Rules as They Go,’ ‘ASU Got Hosed’ — Robert Griffin III, Analysts Rip Big 12 Officials After Second Review Gives BYU TD vs. Arizona State

Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake (left) and Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham (right) speak before a game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)

Oliver Hodgkinson · Pro Football Network

Sat, October 31, 2026 at 11:26 PM UTC ·

4 min read

How Two Replay Reviews Turned a Fumble Into a BYU Touchdown

BYU had reached the Arizona State 1 when Bear Bachmeier, the Cougars' quarterback, put the ball on the ground and running back Sione Moa came up with it. The original ruling had Bachmeier down. Officials reviewed it and determined the ball came loose before Moa grabbed it, so they spotted it for BYU at the 1 and left the Cougars facing third down.

A Dillingham timeout followed, and that stoppage led the officials to take a second look. This time they reversed course, deciding Moa had recovered the fumble and crossed the goal line, putting BYU up 7-0 with 11:31 remaining in the first quarter.

BYU's previous two games, a win over Notre Dame on Oct. 17 and a 39-31 double-overtime loss at UCF on Oct. 24, both featured disputed officiating decisions of their own.

Griffin widened the lens on the broadcast: "This is three weeks in a row where we've had Big 12 officials just making up rules as they go." Media company Awful Announcing posted the exchange among Fox's Connor Onion, Griffin and Pereira.

Pereira walked through the sequence on the broadcast, starting with what set this play apart:

"This is not the type of situation that you have when a runner steps out of bounds where you can continue in action. This was a player that recovered the ball and got up in the field of play. The ruling on the field was the runner was down initially. And if that's the case, you've ruled it dead. You can give a recovery, but you can't give an advance, unless you've come up with a new rule here, which I'm not too sure you can really do."

Dillingham was irate after the ruling changed, and Pereira took his side: "The fact is, Kenny's right. They killed the play. You can forget about when the whistle happened. They killed the play in the field of play and the ball was out."

Why the Criticism Reached Past a Single Call

The reaction kept coming back to the calendar as much as the call. Jon Wilner gave the play a three-word verdict, "ASU got hosed," before he turned to the bigger problem: "Terrible stretch of weeks for Big 12 refs — and not with judgment calls. With officiating mechanics. Inexcusable."

Scott Warner had no patience for the Big 12's officials either: "The Big 12 refs are an absolute joke this season. Never seen officiating so bad since I started watching college football. They should honestly be ashamed of themselves."

Brady Quinn went after who runs officiating in the first place: "Nationalize officiating. Stop letting conferences have control. Big 12 has been a disaster this season but an example of the inconsistency week to week."

The seven points came in a game that tightened in a hurry. BYU led 17-3 at halftime before Arizona State scored two third-quarter touchdowns to tie it 17-17, and the Cougars led 27-17 with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter.

For BYU, 6-1 and third in the Big 12 coming in, the result carries real playoff weight. As of Oct. 31, 2026, Pro Football Network's College Football Playoff Meter gives BYU a 52.2% chance to make the playoff with a win over Arizona State and a 16.3% chance with a loss. It gives Arizona State, 4-3 coming in, a 0.1% chance to make the playoff.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .