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BYU football: Willingham reluctantly accepts call

Congrats to the cougars. Heck of a game. Rules are the rules, the rule sucks but it had to be called because it was broken. Give credit to BYU on the last play, they had enough will and desire to block that kick to win the game. My mexican possy and I were very pleased with the win. However, we need to tighten up our defense a little, we're slow. That's definately BYU's weakness. Beat UCLA!

The call happened and I thought tough luck Washington until I had to hear Bronco's lame analysis on the whole thing. I hope BYU fans remember Bronco's words when BYU is on the other end of that type of call. Who knows what would've happened in OT or if BYU would've blocked the PAT anyway. I am sure Bronco is a good man but can Holmoe pay for some public speaking classes and have a tutor teach him not to come across so smug in his post game interviews.

I'm glad coach Willingham appears able to take this like a man, unlike mainstream sportscasters...is it just me, or do they, the sportscasters, sound like the whiny babies BYU is always accused of being?

To say that officials should ignore penalties because the game is close or in the last minute is absurd. The officials' job is to call the game the same for both teams - they need to be blind to score, clock and uniform color. It may have been mild as celebrations go, but it did technically violate the rule. The question is not whether it should have been called in the last minute, but whether it would have been called had it occured in the first minute. BYU has been victimized by a lot of picky excessive celebration penalties through the years, so it is hard to feel a lot of sympathy. These were Pac 10 officals in a Pac 10 stadium - notorious for "homer" calls the past few years. It is poetic justice that the Pac 10 folks are whining about Pac 10 refs!

Wimps from Provo got a lucky call. Your luck will run out soon.

Unfortunately for UW, the celebration rule doesn't require much judgement on the part of the officals - the ball was definitely thrown in the air. But in any call that required judgement - mainly offensive holding - it pretty much went all their way. There were a couple of times rushers were basically tackled from behind! They got more than their share of "no calls", as you expect of Pac 10 crews in a Pac 10 venue. Of course, without Harvey's fumble we wouldn't even be talking about this. The PAT attempt would only be to bring them back within a touchdown. BYU deserved the win. They didn't steal it.

The TV commentators on the Florida-Miami game were even complaining about the celebration call on Locker. There are an awful lot of people in this country that are like stupid Ute fans and are constantly pulling for anyone that plays BYU. It will only get worse this year, as long as the Cougars continue to win. The only way to avoid it is to wallop everyone they play, and I'm afraid that won't happen this week against UCLA. So get prepared for some more complaining about officiating and the like...

It takes more than one or two plays to win or lose a game. The Huskies should not pin their woes on the penalty call, nor the Cougars their joy on the blocked kick.

I could not believe how much play this penalty got on ESPN. The real story is that washington held our defensive linemen numerous times throughout the game and to make big plays to keep that final drive alive. The refs didn't call one holding penalty all game. Tiavela (#77) was tackled on a critical fourth down play when he had beaten his blocker and was in Locker's face. The refs were terrible. Calling this penalty didn't take anything away from the huskies, a "pac-10" team should be able to hit a 35 yard extra point without trouble.

Stupid rule, and in that scenario, flags should stay in the pocket. Any team that is in Washington's shoes would agree. If the tables were turned, BYU fans, or anyone's fans to whom it happened, wouldn't be so strict about enforcing the rule. Shame the game ended that way. As a fan of neither team, I was looking forward to OT. I like watching that Locker kid play.

Remember when a win was a win and a loss a loss, Now this litigious society debates everything and practically ruins the game. Refs will always make a bad call at some point or two.

The kick was blocked. End of story.

If you are a champion, you make your kick from 35 yards out.

How many field goals are blocked from 35 yards? Not many.

It is interesting the irrational nature of some of the Ute fans (likely a small vocal minority). As a BYU fan I wanted Utah to beat Michigan, I want them to go undefeated until we meet in Nov - want a battle that will be with the winning team going to the BCS. 34-31 BYU.

It was frustrating to listen to Mark May and Lou Holtz, who probably didn't watch even a minute of the gam, and who (in the case of May at least) really hate the concept of BCS busters, analyze that penalty. I am not one to blame the loss of a game on the ref's but there was a big disparity in calls between UW and BYU, and it is generally the case whenever the MWC plays PAC-10, because even if you get a home and home, the officiating is to my knowledge PAC10...it is often hard to watch PAC10 vs MWC for that reason.

With that being said, the calls overall were not too bad in yesterday's game at least from what I saw, although replays don't always tell the whole story, they don't generally show the penalties that were not called on the other side.

All I know is for any BCS, especially PAC 10 sympathizer to be analyzing and feeling sorry the PAC 10 based on one call vs the big, mean and bad MWC is idiotic at best.

Do you really think that if the same thing happened to BYU in that game, and BYU would have lost that Mark May and Lou Holtz would have stopped whatever coverage and analysis of other games, to spend 5 minutes slamming on the officials and talking about how unfair the game was...especially when that was the only play that they saw in the game?

Again, as in all PAC 10 vs MWC games whether home or away...THEY ARE PAC 10 OFFICIALS!!! Let me say again (with a mom voice talking to a baby). Did the big, mean and bad MWC team win over the PAC 10 by cheating...? What a meanie...!!! Come on the game I saw was a fairly one sided affair. Washington should have lost by two touchdowns...

Bronco...please give the prevent defense its finally resting place...please!

The celebration call was ridiculous. Locker did not show anyone up. He did not address the Cougars, the umpires or the crowd. He went to his team. I've seen more celebration after first downs or sacks. Maybe the Huskies don't win the game if they go into OT, but they at least deserved to play it. For the Cougar coach to say it was within the rules was ludicrous. I'd love to see what he'd say if the shoe was on the other foot. What a ridiculous way to win. Fans wanted to see Locker in OT and a stupid call took it away.

Hey,it shouldn't of even come down to that. Washington got every break and still coudn;t get it done.The call was all over ESPN Saturday,I wonder if would have BYU that gotten the call how the national media would handled it. Remember it was at there place with there refs, get over Ute & Washington fans.

A classy coach. Mark May and Lou Holtz with ESPN are bafoons the way they described it all went down. Holtz said the ball came out as he was raising his hands in celebration...please. May said it didn't go "high" after they just show the replay. I suspect the ball was between 15-20 yards in the air.

There were so many bogus calls and no-calls by these refs that worked against BYU in the first half. And seriously "The kick was blocked, end of story".

It was a fun game to watch! As *football* fans let's be happy we got to experience a great game, and see some big plays from both teams! UW fans can be proud of Locker's lion-hearted attempt at a comeback, and BYU fans can be proud of making the big play when it was needed.

I am sure glad to read in these comments that someone else saw the obvious holding that Washington did on their final drive. It was so obvious that the Washington player pulled down the BYU defender after he got by the defender, and surely would have sacked Locker, and Washington would probably not have scored. I have to believe the refs saw that and did not call it. One more comment that might be interesting. In the Utah game when Asiata threw the touchdown, the reciever crossed the goal line and threw the ball straight up in the air, it was not called.For what it's worth.

BYU was a better team most of the day. Didn't like the call but you have to give some credit to the blocked PAT. Who is to say they would not have blocked no matter where it was kicked from. UW played well but were not as good as BYU on this day. It is funny on good teams get lucky breaks and calls. UW is young and will get better. BYU has another fun game comming up this week.