Big 12 officials wrongly ended regulation in UCF’s 39-31 double-overtime upset of No. 2 BYU on Saturday, enforcing a 10-second runoff that erased the Knights’ chance at a fourth-down field goal to win it.
Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, now an NBC Sports rules analyst, said the runoff never should have applied. “The clock stopping for the helmet off was not the only reason it stopped,” McAulay wrote. “It also stopped because it was the end of a legal kick down.”
Why was the 10-second runoff wrong?
With the score tied 24-24 and 11 seconds left, UCF kicker Will Stone’s 46-yard field goal try on third down was blocked by BYU safety Faletau Satuala. Stone recovered behind the line of scrimmage, and his helmet came off as a BYU defender tackled him.
Officials picked up a facemask flag after a lengthy huddle and, with UCF out of timeouts, enforced a 10-second runoff that ended regulation.
The rulebook applies that runoff only when the helmet coming off is “the only reason for stopping the clock, other than due to an injury.” Because the blocked kick never crossed the line of scrimmage, the play ended a legal kick down, which stops the clock by rule. UCF should have kept the ball on fourth down with the clock starting on the snap.
UCF coach Scott Frost had a different kicker ready for that attempt. “That’s the weirdest end of a game I have ever seen,” Frost said.
Big 12 officiating under fire again
At the end of regulation in BYU/UCF, there should not have been a 10-second runoff. The clock stopping for the helmet off was not the only reason it stopped. It also stopped because it was the end of a legal kick down.
— Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) October 24, 2026
The runoff came one week after the Big 12 admitted its replay crew wrongly ended BYU’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame with one second still on the clock. The conference promised to “conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
ESPN’s Rece Davis demanded an end to administrative officiating errors after that game, and Saturday’s runoff was another misapplied rule rather than a judgment call.
Both end-of-game mistakes broke in BYU’s favor when they happened. The Cougars still lost after defensive end Kendal Wall was flagged for roughing the kicker on Stone’s made 26-yard field goal in the second overtime, giving UCF first-and-goal at the 4.
“Can’t accuse the Big 12 of protecting BYU on that one,” college football reporter Stewart Mandel wrote.
How did UCF finish off BYU?
UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins answered with a touchdown pass to tight end Grayson Brousseau and hit Tyren Hornes on the two-point conversion. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier then threw three straight incompletions from the UCF 4, and the Knights earned their first win over an AP top-five opponent in program history.
“This will be humbling for us and we have to learn from it. Kind of frustrated by the outcome but am impressed with UCF,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said.
BYU (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) hosts Arizona State next, while UCF (4-3, 2-2) hosts Baylor on Friday, Oct. 30.
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