After week seven of the college football season, Brigham Young University (BYU) proved itself to be a dominant team others had to look out for. They finished the week with a close win over the No. 2 team at the time, Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish fell 28–24, and BYU moved to the No. 2 spot in the power rankings.
The BYU Cougars’ head coach, Kalani Sitake, seemed confident after the victory, yet he wanted the team to remain focused on the weeks ahead. When asked about the win, he said to “let the boys focus on this season.”
BYU’s game this past weekend on October 24 was almost a guaranteed triumph. No one was concerned about UCF, who, at the time, was tied for 9th/10th in the Big 12 and had only won a single game in their conference. Turns out this was an underestimation of what the UCF Knights are capable of. In a double overtime game against the second-best school in the nation, UCF was able to pull out a win of 39–31.
It’s difficult to say that UCF was undeniably dominating in any aspect of the game, which can be presumed from the tie at the end of regulation time. The gap between passing and rushing yards, as well as completion percentage, was nothing out of the ordinary for college football teams.
Yet UCF managed to sneak by with a kicker penalty in the second overtime. This flag was directed at Kendal Wall, who collided with the Knights’ kicker after the play. While this was a highly disputed penalty, the referees ended up staying true to their on-the-field call.
This series of events ultimately led to the Knights capitalizing on their new first down, where they scored a touchdown two plays later. When it was the Cougars’ turn to match this, they were unable to make it happen, leading to a devastating loss for the Utah team.
Sitake spoke to ESPN after the game, attributing the loss to the fact that BYU “just made a lot of mistakes… that’s on me.” He maintained his composure despite his likely confusion at the kicker call and has an optimistic attitude for the weeks to come.
Ultimately, this game came down to the penalties, giving UCF the upper hand in the second overtime.
While it was a great week for the Knights, it’s impossible to tell if they’ll be able to carry on their success without the help of referees in the upcoming season.
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