Kalani Sitake, BYU Players React To Arizona State Fans Storming The Field
Nov 23, 2024, 8:39 PM | Updated: Nov 25, 2024, 3:03 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. – Saturday’s BYU-Arizona State game was as tense of an ending as you’ll find in a college football game.
Big 12 Championship Game aspirations hung in the balance as BYU had one second left from the 49-yard line to pull off a miracle.
The only problem was that thousands of Arizona State fans had stormed the field.
Arizona State fans needed to be cleared off the field, the grounds crew had to raise the goalposts again, and security had to keep the field safe from ASU fans interacting with BYU players and staff.
Eventually, all that was sorted out, and No. 21 Arizona State came out on top with a 28-23 victory over No. 14 BYU.
However, it was a process to get that final snap.
BYU football coach Kalani Sitake was looking for some penalties to be called
“I was just hoping for all kinds of stuff,” said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake on the delay. “I was like, ‘How many penalties do they get?’ I was just trying to get an unsportsmanlike conduct on the crowd and their student section. I don’t know, just hoping that we had one more shot.”
#BYU head coach Kalani Sitake shared what was running through his mind during the delay with ASU fans storming the field.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/Bs0YMjjwli
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 24, 2024
On the topic of penalties, there was a debate to be had that the final offensive snap from ASU QB Sam Leavitt should have been called an intentional grounding penalty on fourth down.
That would have given BYU an additional 15 yards, but it wasn’t called.
Also, no unsportsmanlike penalty was called for fans running onto the playing surface.
The delay took 15 minutes before Jake Retzlaff and the BYU offense had one final heave downfield to pull off the miracle.
Retzlaff tossed a pass short of the end zone and it landed in the hands of BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts.
Views after the final play of the game between #BYU and Arizona State.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/7JRJMHhQx6
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 24, 2024
The play was officially ruled incomplete in the final game stats.
Chase Roberts shared his experience on the final play of the game
Roberts shared his experience of the final play after the 28-23 loss.
“It was wild. I wish I was about four yards further to get in the end zone,” Roberts said. “Unfortunately, yeah, just came up short. I was hoping to get in the end zone, just a little short. I had to come back and get the ball. It was crazy. I actually wasn’t down.”
When Roberts appeared to come down with the ball short of the end zone, Arizona State fans circled Roberts.
“They blew the ball dead, and I was still up on top of their players, but everyone was rushing the field, so they blew the ball dead. So wild play, wild ending.”
Wild scene in Tempe after the final play of the game between #BYU and Arizona State. pic.twitter.com/8gyK9F3iir
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 24, 2024
When fans circled Roberts, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe immediately went on the field to help Roberts get to the locker room.
“Obviously, it was crazy to have the fans on the field surrounding us. I wish it would have ended differently, but it is the way it is, and we’ll move on and go beat Houston. Hopefully, the cards play out the way they need to, and we’ll be able to play [Arizona State] in the Big 12 Championship Game.”
Crazy scene here in Tempe. pic.twitter.com/FWNAP6FfG4
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 24, 2024
It was a chaotic scene at Mountain America Stadium.
One Arizona State fan was arrested by security while on the field. Arizona State fans were taunting BYU players as they returned to the locker room.
BYU players kept their cool, and the scene didn’t escalate.
Different interactions between players
“It’s fine; it’s just people who are intoxicated, you know? It is what it is,” said BYU center Connor Pay on the scene of fans flooding the field after the game. “I got to see and talk to some of the ASU players that I knew, and obviously, the players you just competed against are very different than fans sitting in the stands who didn’t contribute to the game.
“So it was very much mutual respect between me and the other players. I got a chance to congratulate some of the guys that I knew and tell them that I hope to see them again in two weeks.”
Kalani Sitake was not upset with how long Arizona State fans’ storming of the field delayed the game.
Kalani Sitake was asked if he felt it was “excessive” how long the delay took to clear off the field.
“I hate getting mad at the [ASU] fans. They’re so excited to get the win.”#BYU #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/S1jTT8XyTU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 24, 2024
“I hate getting mad at the fans. They were so excited to get the win,” said Sitake. “It’s two ranked teams that were playing. All we heard is that there was one second and I was going to cling on as much hope as I can. So it’s OK. None of our guys are hurt. So there was no big issue there. … I understand the fan’s excitement and energy, and it’s OK. I didn’t think they were too rude to us. They’re excited about their win.”
BYU football looks to respond next week
The ending of the loss was wild. But BYU realized they missed opportunities throughout the game to avoid being left with a one-second Hail Mary situation.
“We can respond from this in a positive manner,” said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. “But when you put yourself in the hole too much, it’s going to be hard to crawl out of it, especially against a real quality team like Arizona State.”
BYU falls to 9-2, 6-2 in Big 12 action. The Cougars will close out the regular season against Houston next Saturday in Provo.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
