Opinion: Utah needs to get over the Holy War already. It was a hold, but that's not why they lost

It was a hold. Textbook, clear-cut, final word.

I'm sorry, but you can't honestly watch this play and say the cornerback didn't pull the receiver's jersey and influence the play. The side judge made a good call, and it would have been a shame to allow Utah to win the game while blatantly breaking the rules of the sport.

In the moment, and well after the fact, Utah allowed the scale of the moment to cloud its vision. Frustration and anger overcame many prominent Utes in unprecedented ways.

The Utes' athletic director, Mark Harlan, allowed emotion to influence his judgment as he took to the field during the Utes' final play to argue a now-irrelevant penalty that was now well in the past. His press conference pedestal set the stage for an emotional rant declaring that the officiating had deliberately "stolen" the result from Utah.

I'm here to set the record straight. No, this game wasn't stolen from Utah by the Big 12 Conference. Utah, you did this to yourselves.

Exhibit A: Offensive Disappearing Act

After scoring a phenomenal 21 points in the first half, while holding BYU to only 10 points--all from special teams--the Utes seemed poised to cruise to a Holy War victory.

After all, their defensive efficiency ranks top-10 nationally and they didn't allow BYU's offense to find the endzone in the first 30 minutes of play. If the Utah offense and Brandon Rose could control the tempo and add to their lead, the Cougars would be in serious trouble.

Here's where Utah failed on Saturday night: scoring 0 points, throwing 2 interceptions, and punting 5 times in the second half.

The Utes' 3rd-string QB must have run out of Michael's Secret Stuff before halftime, because he struggled to get anything going against BYU's desperate defense. Throwing an easy interception on a miscommunication with the wide receiver gave BYU's offense all the momentum it needed to begin the slow climb back to the top.

When the game clock ticked down from 4:30 on the Utes' final possession, failing to earn a first down--the same three-and-out result from the previous series--gave BYU the ball with under two minutes to go.

Ask Oklahoma State and they'll tell you the same thing--never let Jake Retzlaff and BYU's offense have the ball last.

Exhibit B: No Defense Can Stop the Team of Destiny

This is the pressure point of the entire contest. BYU with the ball backed up deep into their own territory with under 2 minutes to play. The Ute defense blitzed the Cougars beaten-down offensive line on repeat, and they got home to the quarterback with little resistance.

On 4th and 10, BYU needed a big play to stay alive. The ball was snapped, Retzlaff scanned the field to find 0 open receivers and instead was sacked at the goal line. Ball game.

Until everyone noticed the neon-yellow laundry left near the sideline. Defensive holding, and no, it wasn't fraudulent. Vaughn grabbed Phillips' shoulder pad and ripped the BYU receiver down, completely interfering with the route. Ten yards and an automatic first down were granted to the Cougars, but here's the part that remains Utah's fault.

BYU needed to march the length of the field and kick a game-winning field goal. With 0 timeouts at their own 20 yard line with just over a minute of game time remaining.

When Chase Roberts caught a 30-yard pass while being completely wide-open, that wasn't the ref's fault. When Hinckley Ropati sliced through the Utah defense to move the Cougars into field goal range, that wasn't the ref's fault.

When Will Ferrin knocked through the go-ahead field goal with seconds remaining, that wasn't the ref's fault.

BYU won the 2024 Holy War in Salt Lake City. The Big 12 isn't going to change that result. The NCAA isn't going to intervene. You may not like it, Ute fans, but the result reads "Final".

No one is to blame, and there is no conspiracy against the U. It's time to get over it.

More BYU Cougars News: