Big 12 Admits BYU Wrongly Awarded Touchdown in 27-20 Win Over Arizona State The Big 12 acknowledged that No. 8 BYU was erroneously awarded a touchdown in its 27-20 win over Arizona State, the latest in a series of officiating controversies involving the Cougars. The Big 12 admitted that No. 8 BYU was erroneously awarded a touchdown in the first quarter of its 27-20 win over Arizona State on Saturday, and the same game ended with another contested officiating decision. BYU Erroneously Awarded Touchdown After Rule ViolationThe disputed touchdown came on a fumble by BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier. He lost the ball at the Arizona State 1-yard line on second-and-goal, and Cougars running back Sione Moa recovered at the 2-yard line before running into the end zone. The Big 12 said the play should have been blown dead where Moa recovered the ball.The conference cited a rule stating the ball belongs to the recovering team at the spot of the recovery and any advance is nullified. Under college football Rule 12-3-3-d-2, if a replay official rules that the ball was not dead, it belongs to the recovering team at the spot of the recovery, and any advance is nullified. Moa's run should not have counted. Instead, the touchdown stood.The Big 12 said the correct ruling should have given BYU the ball for a third-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Replay officials reviewed the play multiple times before the call was finalized, yet the crew still awarded BYU the touchdown. The touchdown helped BYU win a game decided by seven points. The win improved the Cougars to 7-1 after they were stunned by UCF in double overtime the previous week.BYU also avoided a second straight loss to an unranked opponent. Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham knew the rule and argued strongly with officials during the game. He said he tried to argue that a player can recover a ball after the whistle, but that such a recovery was not a clear advancement, which meant the ball should have been placed at the 3.Arizona State Coach Correctly Contested RulingDillingham also said the outcome was not the officials' fault, noting that the officials did not have a say in the matter and that the decision was made elsewhere. He stated that the result was not what should have happened. Based on the Big 12's admission, Dillingham's view of the ruling was correct. The error gave BYU points it should not have received on that sequence and severely harmed Arizona State's upset bid against a ranked team.The later stages of the game also produced notable swings. A BYU field goal put the Cougars ahead with 12:08 left in the fourth quarter, and a Moa 1-yard touchdown run gave them a 10-point lead with 2:09 remaining. Arizona State kicked a field goal with 57 seconds left to cut the deficit. The game ended with another officiating controversy.There should have been one second left on the clock after what ended up being CJ Carr's final pass attempt fell incomplete in the end zone on first-and-goal from the BYU 9-yard line, but the game was ruled over. There was also an obvious defensive pass interference on that final play that was not called, according to the source account. That missed call added to the disputes surrounding the finish.The Big 12's public acknowledgment put the officiating crew's mistake on the record after a close, high-profile matchup. The conference confirmed that the score was awarded on an incorrect ruling and that the correct call should have gone the other way. BYU has now benefited from another replay mistake, according to the source. The Cougars have benefited from a very fortunate run of officiating in recent weeks.Conference Review Reveals Multiple Controversial Calls Against BYUAt home against the then-No. 2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, BYU pulled off a stunning upset thanks in small part to yet another controversial last second clock call. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier found tight end Walker Lyons with 1:47 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Cougars a 28-24 lead, putting Notre Dame's winning streak in jeopardy.The Irish drove down the field, converting a six-yard pass on fourth-and-5 to give themselves one last shot at the end zone from the 8-yard line with four seconds left. C.J. Carr's pass fell incomplete, and fans stormed the field. Except, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that the stadium game clock clearly read 0:01 as the ball hit the turf.The Big 12 Conference then released a statement. Following the Big 12's review of the final play of Saturday's Notre Dame-BYU game, it was determined that time remained on the clock when the ball hit the ground and the play was incorrectly cleared by the replay officiating crew. The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week's games.Yes, BYU may still have stopped the Irish and won the game anyway, but it was a clear officiating mistake that benefited the Cougars. It happened again the next week. On the road at UCF, BYU found themselves locked in a tight game late in the fourth quarter against what should have been an overmatched opponent. With the game tied 24-24 and 11 seconds left, the Knights set up for a field goal attempt on third down.Officials Incorrectly Applied Runoff During UCF GameKicker Will Stone's attempted was blocked without crossing the line of scrimmage, and Stone recovered it himself. As he was tackled, his helmet came off, with the officials throwing a flag for a BYU facemask. Which they promptly picked up. Not only that, they then incorrectly applied a 10-second runoff for the helmet coming off.As rules analysts explained, that runoff is only required when the helmet coming off is the reason for the clock stoppage. But the clock also stopped because of a legal kick down, per Terry McAulay, meaning that the runoff should not have been applied. Instead of UCF having another opportunity at a game-winning field goal, the game went to overtime. That said, the Cougars did wind up losing in double overtime anyway, thanks in part to some less-than-beneficial officiating.As Stone made a field goal to go up 34-31, BYU's Kendall Wall was flagged for roughing the kicker. Instead of the Cougars needing just a field goal to tie the score, UCF converted the ensuing first-and-goal for a touchdown, making the two-point conversion as well.