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BYU players and administration attempt to leave the field as Arizona State fans rush the field for a second time after the final play of the Big 12 game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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Arizona State fans rush the field during the Big 12 game against BYU at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Fans watch the action during the Big 12 game between BYU and Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU senior Isaiah Bagnah walks off the field during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU fans watch the action during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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It was inevitable that BYU football players and coaches were going to be asked about the impact of the disruptive field-storming by Arizona State supporters before the conclusion of the 28-23 Sun Devil win at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Saturday.

Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake, for example, was very understanding in the post-game press conference.

“I hate getting mad at the fans,” Sitake said. “They’re so excited to get the win. It’s two ranked teams that were playing. It’s OK. None of our guys are hurt, so there was no big issue there. They eventually cleared it and we were able to get that one play. I understand the fans, the excitement, the energy. I didn’t think they were too rude to us. They were excited about their win.”

It was a chaotic scene that played out as the Sun Devils thought they had run out the clock with an intentional incomplete pass that landed out of bounds and the clock ticked down to zero.

ASU supporters started hurdling the barriers and running onto the field, including many who made rude gestures to the BYU section and got in the face of the players.

But since it was fourth down, the final play was under review to see when the turnover on downs occurred.

“I was just hoping for all kinds of stuff,” Sitake said. “I was like, how many penalties they get? I was just trying to get us some unsportsmanlike conducts on the crowd and their student section, just hoping that we had one more shot. We had one second at the 49-yard line.”

Prior to the conclusion of the game, a police officer was overheard saying that the goal of the security at the stadium was to get the opposing team and officials safely off the field.

But that wasn’t an option with the outcome still in doubt.

BYU players like senior offensive lineman Connor Pay said they didn’t feel threatened, but just wanted to get their last chance.

“It’s just annoying,” Pay said. “We just wanted them to get off the field. When the refs made the final decision, there was one second left so we wanted to get out there and run the play.”

As for the comments and taunting from the Sun Devil fans on the field, Pay just shrugged it off.

“It is what it is,” Pay said. “I got to see and talk to some of the ASU players that I knew. Obviously with the players you just competed against, it’s very different than fans sitting in the stands who didn’t contribute to the game. It was very much mutual respect between me and the other players.”

But the dangers of storming the field have been in the spotlight across the country.

The Southeastern Conference, for example, has implemented a rule that any time that fans rush the field the home university will pay the visitors $100,000.

Auburn was fined $100,000 after beating Texas A&M, while Oklahoma was fined $200,000 for rushing the field twice when defeating Alabama.

The Big 12 doesn’t currently have any rules in place, but might need to address the issue sooner rather than later.

The reality is that there are significant safety issues that were highlighted by the wild scene in Tempe.

It required 15 minutes to clear the trespassers from the playing surface, but they still lined the sidelines, including many who were visibly inebriated. It’s not hard to see things escalating into physical violence.

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham was visibly upset when official determined BYU would get one more play. If the referees had administered an intentional grounding penalty (which they probably should have), the fans crowding around could’ve gotten out of control.

It also could’ve easily happened if other possible violations had been flagged on the final pass play from BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff that was caught by Chase Roberts at the 2-yard line:

• There was contact by the Arizona State defensive back prior to the ball getting to Roberts that could’ve been pass interference.
• The same defender pulled Roberts down using the neck gap at the top of Robert’s jersey, which might have been an illegal horse-collar tackle.
• As Roberts is lying on top of the ASU defender, another Sun Devil comes over and pushes Roberts’ head to the ground by the helmet, which could be a face-mask violation.
• And other Arizona State players (and a number of fans) could be seen gesturing at the BYU players, which could’ve been a taunting violation.

Did the officials (even subconsciously) feel intimidated into not making any of those calls because they were surrounded by Sun Devil fans who could’ve turned violent if a flag was thrown, giving the Cougars another chance to win at the 1-yard line?

While rushing the field can be an exhilarating experience for fans, the Big 12 needs to have some clear safeguards for those on the field and consequences for those who put others at risk going forward.

A possibility the league should consider is establishing a five-minute grace period at the end of the game, with it clearly established that any unauthorized individual coming onto the field during that time would result in a fine for the violating university and with the non-offending team getting the option of an untimed down after a 15-yard penalty.

Dropping down in the rankings

After suffering its second loss of the season, BYU dropped a few more spots in the national polls.

The Cougars now sit at No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, while they are at No. 20 in the coaches poll. Arizona State moved up to No. 14 after edging BYU in Tempe.

Tiebreaker scenarios

The Big 12 issued a statement regarding the current tiebreaker scenarios regarding which teams have a shot at getting to the Big 12 championship:

“Entering Week 14, nine teams are still in contention for the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship. The following details tiebreaking scenarios for ties among teams with 7-2 Big 12 records:

Two-team tie scenarios: The two tied teams at 7-2 will be the Championship game participants.

Three-team tie scenarios:

1. Colorado loss: Arizona State vs. Iowa State

2. Arizona State loss: Iowa State vs. BYU

3. Iowa State loss: Arizona State vs. BYU

4. BYU loss: If Texas Tech defeats West Virginia, then

• If Baylor beats Kansas and Cincinnati beats TCU: Colorado vs. Iowa State
• Otherwise: Colorado vs. Arizona State

If West Virginia defeats Texas Tech: Arizona State vs. Iowa State

Four-team tie scenario: Arizona State vs. Iowa State

For teams who are 5-3 entering the week, they must win and see at least three of the four 6-2 teams take a loss.

Additional updates will be available on Big12Sports.com as results become final throughout the final week of play.

Extra points

BYU lost the coin toss and Arizona State deferred to the second half, giving the Cougars the ball first. BYU turned the ball over on downs on the first drive of the game. The Sun Devils also turned the ball over on downs on the first drive of the third quarter … The Cougar captains for the game were WR Chase Roberts, CB Jakob Robinson, DE Tyler Batty and WR Darius Lassiter … BYU safety Tommy Prassas carried the USA flag, tight end Matava Ta’ase carried the flag of the state of Arizona and tight end Jackson Bowers carried the Big 12 flag onto the field … The Cougar alumni flags were brought onto the field by Ken Anderson, JD Hartsfield (K, 1997-98) and David Tafuna (DB, 2004-08) … Game-time weather was clear and 78 degrees with light winds … the announced attendance at the game was 55,400.