BYU’s unbeaten run ended in controversy, and Big 12 referees are under fire. Fresh off upsetting Notre Dame, Kalani Sitake’s No. 2 Cougars fell 39-31 to UCF after a disputed roughing-the-kicker penalty gave the Knights a lifeline in double overtime. But Dave Portnoy wasn’t buying the call.
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The controversy erupted on UCF’s fourth-down field-goal attempt. The penalty turned what would have been three points into an automatic first down and a first-and-goal opportunity from the four-yard line.
“We’re in double-overtime, BYU’s fightin’ for absolute life like they always do…And they’re gonna call this roughing the kicker? What are we doin’? The lineman just (fell) down…What a world, is that roughing the kicker? They’re screwin’ us, they’re screwin’ the Cougs! WORST CALL EVER!” Dave Portnoy said in a post on X on October 25.
BYU defensive lineman Kendal Wall appeared to make contact with the kicker after pushing an opposing offensive lineman backward. But officials ruled it roughing the kicker, a decision critics argued unfairly punished BYU.
Quarterback Keyone Jenkins capitalized, finding Grayson Brousseau for a four-yard touchdown before connecting with Tyren Hornes on the two-point conversion. BYU still had an opportunity to respond, but quarterback Bear Bachmeier’s fourth-and-goal pass fell incomplete.
And Portnoy wasn’t the only one questioning the officiating.
“That roughing the kicker call was AWFUL. And now UCF has a TD. Can’t accuse the Big 12 of protecting BYU on that one,” Stewart Mandel wrote on X.
Reagan Harris, posting as @OKSTMart, argued that BYU had been “completely screwed” by the decision. Trey Wallace also questioned the contact involved, writing, “A personal foul ‘roughing the kicker’ on a defensive lineman who trucked his opponent? Wow…don’t know how to feel about that BYU penalty.”
Underdog CFB also highlighted the controversial sequence. However, no official Big 12 ruling cited in the available reports has declared the penalty incorrect.
Still, blaming the entire defeat on one flag would let BYU off too easily.
UCF had been pushing the Cougars all afternoon, and Jenkins delivered one of his strongest performances of the season. The backup quarterback completed 25 of 41 passes for 293 yards, accounting for four total touchdowns without a turnover. His 25-yard touchdown pass to Josh Derry in the first overtime had already kept the Knights alive.
Meanwhile, Bachmeier threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns, but BYU’s defense struggled, allowing 463 total yards against an offense that had entered the matchup searching for consistency.
And that’s what makes this defeat particularly damaging for Sitake. The Cougars were firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation but suffered their first loss to an unranked opponent since November 2024.
For UCF head coach Scott Frost, the victory was historic. The Knights defeated an AP top-five opponent for the first time in program history.
“I’m happy for our kids. The message all week was we put ourselves in position to have a chance at the end against three really good teams, and we haven’t got it done. This is the best team we’ve played, I’ve got so much respect for them. I’m happy for UCF, a win like this has been a long time coming for us,” Frost said after the victory.
UCF earned its historic upset, but one controversial flag has left Big 12 referees facing serious backlash. BYU had its chances and failed to deliver, yet the disputed call gave the Knights a lifeline when it mattered most.
And with Portnoy calling it the “WORST CALL EVER,” the question remains: Did UCF earn its biggest victory, or did the officials help decide it?