Month: June 2025

Blasting officials after last year’s Utah-BYU football game earned Utah athletics director Mark Harlan a $40,000 fine and a public reprimand from the Big 12.

Days later, Big 12 football officials coordinator Greg Burks indicated there was no basis for Harlan’s post-game rant. In a game-review document of the officials obtained by the Avalanche-Journal, Burks said a hotly contested penalty against Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn was called correctly. In all, Burks disagreed with the Utah staff’s views of how five of six plays they submitted for review were officiated.

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The game-winning drive in BYU‘s 22-21 victory on Nov. 9 at Utah was kept alive by a defensive holding call on fourth down with 1:29 left in the game. Trailing 21-19 at the time but given new life, the Cougars drove for a game-winning field goal with four seconds left.

Harlan took the podium in the post-game interview area and told reporters, “This game was absolutely stolen from us.”

More: How Big 12 answered Joey McGuire complaints after Colorado-Texas Tech football game

More: Behind scenes, Kirby Hocutt called for transparency on Big 12 football officiating

Big 12 officials coordinator Greg Burks backed crew on controversial call in BYU-Utah game

Big 12 coaches can send in plays to the conference office for feedback after each game. For each play in question, a coach or team representative provides question or comment about how officials handled it. Burks marks “agree” or “disagree” with the team’s view, then offers his comment and explanation.

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BYU’s Jojo Phillips was the wide receiver on the disputed play, split out to the left.

“Would like clarity as to the penalty for defensive holding by #5 (Vaughn),” a Utah staff member wrote. “The contact occurs near the line of scrimmage and does not impede the WR ability to progress vertically up the field.”

Burks marked “disagree” and responded, “QB looks to #5 immediately after the snap, as receiver moves to go around the defender, the defender grabs the receiver and prevents him from running his route. Correct call.”

The situation was fourth-and-10 from the BYU 9-yard line. Two defenders sacked quarterback Jake Retzlaff for an 8-yard loss as the crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium celebrated only to have the sack erased by the penalty.

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Utah coach Kyle Whittingham complained to the side judge after the play and the field judge on the field after the game, and Harlan confronted referee Kevin Mar on the field after the game.

In the interview room, Harlan said, “We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.

“This was not fair to our team. I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”

BYU moved to 9-0, but lost its next two games and finished 11-2.

The Avalanche-Journal obtained the game-review document via an open-records request to Texas Tech for correspondence with the Big 12 relating to the Tech-Colorado game the same day. Texas Tech deferred to the Texas Attorney’s General office for an open-records decision on a portion of the material.

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Months later, the AG’s office ruled for full disclosure of all the pertinent documents. The officiating-review sheets of the Tech-Colorado game were attached to those of three other Big 12 games on Nov. 9.

How conference office compared Utah-BYU football officiating to other Big 12 games the same day

Coaches from Texas Tech and Colorado sent in 13 plays for review of officiating. Burks said he disagreed with the coaches on eight and agreed on five, acknowledging incorrect calls or no-calls in the latter. The Cincinnati staff differed with officials on 10 plays in its game against West Virginia. Burks disagreed on eight and agreed there were two missed calls.

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For comparison, the document shows six plays submitted by the Utah staff after the BYU game. Burks agreed with the Utes on only one, acknowledging a wrong player being identified on a holding penalty.

The Utah staff wondered whether defensive holding should have been called on BYU defenders on back-to-back plays early in the third quarter. On a play involving wide receiver Dorian Singer, a Utah staff member asked, “Does the contact of the CB at the top of the route restrict the WR’s ability to make a play on the ball?”

Burks disagreed and explained, “Receiver stops and comes back for the pass. Defender has right arm around receivers waist and knocks the pass down with his left hand. Defender does not turn the receivers hip. Correct no call.”

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The Utes also questioned a “‘hook’ or pull from behind by the defender” on Utes tight end Brant Kuithe on the next play. As Kuithe ran his route across the formation, quarterback Brandon Rose threw incomplete to another receiver.

Burks disagreed and wrote, “This action is a foul that occurs at the same time as the ball is being thrown to a different receiver. Official sees the restriction and then looks to the QB. When the ball goes to a different receiver, the foul is disregarded. Had the QB been looking at this receiver or had the ball been thrown to him, this would be a foul.”

Two plays before the defensive holding call against Vaughn, the Utah staff on the review document suggested Retzlaff could have been called for intentional grounding and, on the same play, offensive lineman Austin Leausa for an illegal block.

Burks disagreed, writing, “QB is outside the box and the pass is beyond the LOS (line of scrimmage). Legal. The block by 55 is with extended arms not the torso. Legal.”

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How Big 12 answered Utah’s beef over hotly contested call in BYU game

This article was first published in the Ute Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.

Utah’s nonconference schedule this season is pretty intriguing, starting off with a return to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA.

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The Utes and Bruins open the 2025 season on Aug. 30 in a game that will be televised on Fox and will feature plenty of storylines, from Utah with New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier to UCLA with Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Both teams are coming off losing records and are eager to start the season on the right note.

After that, the Utes make their first trip to Laramie since 2010 to play Wyoming. Yes, the Utes have won nine of the last 10 against the Cowboys, but War Memorial Stadium always is a tough place to play.

The Utes then round out nonconference play with their first meeting against Cal Poly.

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With limited openings, college football nonconference schedules fill up fast, and on Wednesday, the Utes — which have games scheduled out to 2033 — added another game.

Utah will host Nevada in 2028, filling out a three-game nonconference slate that includes games at Wisconsin and vs. Utah Tech.

Here’s a look at the complete future nonconference schedule for the Utes, from 2026 to 2033.

2026

• vs. Arkansas

• vs. Utah State

The Utes will start the 2026 season with a rare phenomenon — opening up with three consecutive nonconference home games.

Utah will meet Idaho for the first time since 1993 (the Utes lost that game 28-18), then will host Arkansas for the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

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After that, it’s a return of the Battle of the Brothers against Utah State, which pays a visit to Salt Lake City for the first time since 2015. The Utes are currently riding a three-game win streak against the Aggies.

2027

• vs. Miami (FL) in Las Vegas

• vs. Wyoming

At last year’s Big 12 media days at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said that he “probably won’t” be the Utes’ coach for that game.

“It’s been a great opportunity to play here as much as we have,” Whittingham said of Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the Pac-12 championship games.

“We’re going to open here in 2027 against the Miami Hurricanes. I probably won’t be sitting here in this chair, but somebody will. That’s going to be a great opportunity to come to Vegas and play again.”

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Whittingham’s contract runs through 2027, but it could be Morgan Scalley in the head coach position when the first-ever meeting between the Utes and Hurricanes happens in Vegas.

The Utes also host Wyoming for the first time since 2009, when the two teams were members of the Mountain West Conference, as part of a home-and-home agreement between the schools. As noted, Utah heads to Laramie this year for the first leg.

2028

• vs. Utah Tech

• vs. Nevada

• at Wisconsin

The Utes will open with instate opponent Utah Tech, the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools. Then, Utah hosts Nevada for the first meeting between the programs since 1945.

The crown jewel of the nonconference schedule in 2028 is a visit to Camp Randall Stadium as the Utes return to Madison, Wisconsin, for the first time since 1987, when the Utes defeated the Badgers, 31-28.

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It will be the fourth meeting between the two programs and the first since 1996, when Wisconsin beat Utah 38-10 in the 1996 Copper Bowl.

There should be a sizable amount of Ute fans that make the trip, and getting to witness “Jump Around” in person will be a highlight.

2029

• vs. Weber State

• at Arkansas

After hosting Weber State, the Utes will hit the road for their first-ever visit to Fayetteville, Arkansas. As part of the return leg from the home-and-home series, the Utes will head into SEC territory to face the Razorbacks. As is the case for any Power Four nonconference game, the trip to Arkansas is going to provide a lot of excitement early in the season.

2030

• vs. Utah Tech

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After another game against Utah Tech, the UCLA Bruins come to town for the second half of the home-and-home series against an old Pac-12 foe. The Utes are 9-12 all time against the Bruins, but have won four of the last five meetings between the two schools, including a 14-7 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium in 2023, the Pac-12’s final year.

2031

• vs. Utah State

History will be made at Rice-Eccles Stadium as the Utes welcome in LSU for the first time ever.

This far in advance, it’s impossible to tell how good each team will be, but LSU and Utah both have winning traditions, and it could be one of the marquee nonconference games in the country that year.

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Along with Michigan, Florida and USC, LSU is one of the top-tier opponents that has made the trek to Salt Lake City, and it should make for a memorable game.

2032

Perhaps the most exciting opponent on Utah’s nonconference schedule, the Utes will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to play LSU.

It’s not the first time the Utes have made the trip — they played at LSU in 1974 and 1976, both losses — but it’s the first time in quite a while.

Visiting “Death Valley” should be a treat for Ute fans, especially those who enjoyed their visit to the “Swamp” when Utah played Florida in 2022.

2033

• vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin makes the return trip after hosting the Utes in 2028.

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Just like LSU, Wisconsin joins an elite list of brand-name teams that have played in Salt Lake City.

The Badgers and the Utes will face off on Sept. 10, 2033. The players that will play in that game are still a ways off from high school, but when the game rolls around, there will be plenty of excitement in Salt Lake City.

In case you missed it

It’s been a slow start to the 2026 recruiting cycle for the Utes, but things are heating up, with 40-plus official visitors rolling through campus in June. Here are the five biggest targets for Utah in the 2026 class.

From the archives

Extra points

OREM, Utah — Utah Valley is joining the Big West Conference for the 2026-27 athletic year, giving the league a presence in that state for the first time since Utah State ended a 27-year run in 2005.

The conference said Wednesday it remained open to the possibility of adding a 12th member but anticipated being an 11-school league when Utah Valley and Cal Baptist officially join July 1, 2026.

The Big West doesn’t have football, and Hawaii and UC Davis are leaving to join the Mountain West Conference in 2026-27. Hawaii has been a football-only member of the Mountain West since 2012. UC Davis has been a football-only member of the Big Sky Conference.

Utah Valley is leaving the Western Athletic Conference, and the Wolverines will compete in 13 Big West-sponsored sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball.

“Their addition expands our geographic footprint into a vibrant and strategically significant region, while elevating the level of competition across the board,” Big West commissioner Dan Butterly said.

Utah Valley will be the largest school in the Big West with an enrollment of 47,000. Barring further realignment, Utah Valley will replace Hawaii as the only school in the conference outside California.

Remember that 2019 Super Bowl commercial celebrating the NFL’s 100th season?

For pro football fans, it was a two-minute fever dream of gridiron greatness.

The commercial featured:

• A tuxedo-clad Joe Montana firing a spiral to, who else, Jerry Rice.

• An aging Peyton Manning throwing out his arm.

• Tom Brady joining the fun — but not before handing a fistful of title rings to Baker Mayfield.

• Patrick Mahomes side-arming the ball to Odell Beckham Jr.

• And the patriarch of NFL football, the late Jim Brown, exclaiming: “Boy, this is a great party.”

But perhaps the commercial’s most memorable moment occurs when an errant football falls into the hands of a teenage girl dressed in her Sunday best.

“Can I have the ball, please?” All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman asks the girl.

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“You want this? Come and get it,” she taunts, before spinning past Sherman and lateraling the ball to Saquon Barkley, this year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Football fans in Utah immediately recognized Sam Gordon — the tackle football-loving girl from Herriman whose viral videos of her juking the boys, dashing up sidelines and scoring Little League touchdown after touchdown after touchdown made her a YouTube sensation.

When the Super Bowl commercial aired, the pony-tailed tailback had already become a global advocate/ambassador for girls tackle football.

There was a “Good Morning America” appearance. Her image was featured on a one-of-a-kind Wheaties cereal box. And the NFL presented her with its inaugural “Game Changer” award.

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And, perhaps most importantly, Gordon helped start the Utah Girls Tackle Football League — offering girls in the Beehive State an opportunity to play the same sport as their dads, granddads and brothers.

So what’s Sam Gordon up to today?

Gordon’s grown a few inches since those initial YouTube videos.

And she has an Ivy League diploma now sharing wall space with her football pictures. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City to play DI college soccer at Columbia University and study film and psychology.

But now Gordon’s back in Utah, and back doing what she loves: Playing tackle football and, yes, scoring a lot of touchdowns.

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Gordon is a two-way player — halfback and middle linebacker — for the Salt Lake Wildcats.

It’s a first-year squad competing in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) — a national organization that bills itself as “the largest, longest running, and most competitive women’s tackle football league in the world.”

One of Gordon’s longtime friends, Wildcats quarterback Laura Goetz, was pivotal in organizing the team, which is competing in the WFA’s Division 2 for its maiden season.

The pro-am Wildcats have yet to lose a game (5-0) — and they’re averaging over 60 points a match. So a promotion to the league’s premier division seems a logical move in the team’s future.

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And it helps that the Wildcats boast a celebrated star such as Gordon who hasn’t forgotten how to slip tackles, find the end zone and draw media attention.

For Gordon, transitioning from college “fútbol” to tackle football, “has been so fun.”

“I had forgotten how much I missed playing football. There’s just nothing like putting those pads on and getting to hit again. … I loved playing soccer — but football is where my heart’s always been.”

Playing football once again is also a welcome surprise.

When Gordon graduated from Herriman High School and headed east to Columbia, she assumed her tackle football career belonged to YouTube and the past.

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She admits battling butterflies when she pulled on shoulder pads and a helmet for the first time in years to train with the Wildcats.

“I was definitely shaking out those nerves,” she said. “I didn’t feel as aggressive on defense and was hesitating to make my cuts — but now I feel like I’ve gotten back into the swing of things.”

As a Wildcat, Gordon has emerged as one of the division’s leading scorers and remains a touchdown threat every time Goetz hands her the ball.

Becoming a YouTube pigskin hero

Anyone who has followed Sam Gordon’s tackle football adventures for more than a decade is familiar with her story.

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She grew up in the southwest end of the Salt Lake Valley, passing the football with her family in the backyard and terrorizing recess pickup football games.

Nine-year-old Sam would tag along to her older brother’s youth league football practices and run wind sprints with the guys.

“And I’d beat most of the players on the team,” she said, still relishing the memory.

Soon Sam was a full-fledged team member of the boy’s tackle team — and soon her highlight videos began appearing online. It looked like she had hacked her games with cheat codes, dodging and dashing past players almost double her size — and then delivering big hits on defense.

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“I just fell in love with it,” she said.

By the time she was 12, Gordon was playing in the newly organized Utah Girls Tackle Football League. She was already a household name for many football fans and a seasoned media personality in front of the camera.

“Looking back, I can’t believe that it happened,” she said. “It still feels a little surreal that I was able to meet so many people and have all those experiences. But it was a lot of fun.”

Her unique experiences paid dividends beyond football.

“It helped a lot with my public speaking ability and things that carried over into college, like having the confidence to speak up in classrooms,” said Gordon.

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Her decision to study film in college was prompted by witnessing the reach and influence of today’s evolving communication platforms. “The power of the media to change my life — and the entire course of girls football in Utah — was incredible.”

Gordon’s media exposure allowed her to be more than an athlete. She became an advocate for something larger than herself: developing tackle football opportunities for females.

No surprise, advocacy triggers a few trolls.

Sandwiched between the wide support of Gordon’s athletic development were the mean-spirited comments.

“It was always funny to see grown men commenting on my 9-year-old’s post and telling me that I could never make it in the NFL. Or boys my age telling me that they would crush me on the field. Or the typical ‘Go get me a sandwich’ comments; that type of thing.”

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At those moments, young Sam fell back on the support of her family and friends — and then kept scoring touchdowns.

And she adopted a strategy that is still serving her well: “When you’re trying to make a change, look for like-minded people — and don’t struggle against the people who think you’re wrong.”

Filming a classic Super Bowl commercial

People often ask Gordon if she was able to meet all of the “Who’s Who in the NFL” players featured in the 100th season Super Bowl commercial.

Actually, no.

Most of the folks captured in the Sam Gordon clip were background extras — but she was still able to work for several hours in Los Angeles with Richard Sherman and Saquon Barkley.

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“That was super fun, and they were both really cool to talk with and were very supportive,” she said.

And here’s a few fun bits of Super Bowl commercial trivia: The directors had to put glue on Gordon’s hand because it was too small to palm an NFL-size football.

And early in the filming, Barkley split his pants jumping over a player — so they had to halt production for a few moments to deal with a wardrobe malfunction.

Most of Gordon’s friends and fans knew nothing about her Super Bowl commercial cameo prior to the Big Game. “So when it (aired), everyone freaked out. It was incredible.”

When Gordon moved to New York City, her new Columbia classmates were largely unaware of her former life scoring touchdowns and shooting commercials with NFL stars.

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But whenever the Lions played a soccer game on TV, the commentators inevitably brought up Gordon’s exciting football past. And even students with no interest in sports realized something was different about Gordon when they would swap Instagram accounts and discover their new Utah friend had tens of thousands of followers.

What’s the future for female tackle football in Utah?

Goetz is a year younger than her Wildcat backfield mate, Sam Gordon.

The two were both rivals and good friends growing up. And, like Gordon, Goetz grew up loving tackle football and seizing any opportunity to play.

The West Jordan native played in the local girls tackle football league and, after high school graduation, eventually started playing women’s flag football.

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Women’s flag football is a growing global sport that will be part of the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Goetz enjoys flag football. But the modified version of the sport, she added, can’t match the joy of playing tackle football.

“So I thought, ‘Let’s create a team and make something where these girls who are graduating (from high school) have an opportunity to continue their football careers.”

Forming a tackle football team such as the Salt Lake Wildcats is, well, a noseguard-sized endeavor. Besides curating a team roster, organizers have to secure facilities, equipment, coaches, trainers and media promotion.

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But for Goetz and others associated with the upstart Wildcats, it’s been an exhausting labor of love.

The existing Utah Girls Tackle Football League has been a key resource to get started. “And we are intertwined with the girls league in every way,” said Goetz.

Goetz pauses for a moment when asked about the future of women’s tackle football in Utah. Like any good quarterback, she’s both hopeful and cautious.

Over the past several years, she said, women’s tackle football has grown — but not dramatically.

A few years ago, a lawsuit demanding that the Utah High School Activities Association sponsor girls tackle football was unsuccessful. And local high schools don’t offer girls football as a club sport.

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Meanwhile, added Goetz, teams such as the Wildcats are classified as “semi-pro” — but it really functions as a club. Players pick up the tab for many of the expenses, including travel.

But despite obstacles, Goetz remains motivated to help create a future for local women’s tackle football “where players don’t have to decide whether they’re going to make their car payment or football payment.”

And, she added, Utah is a “football hotbed.” She is certain tackle football for females can work here.

“I want to see tackle football provided to these women with equal opportunity.”

So what’s next for No. 6: Sam Gordon?

Even as Sam Gordon relishes her return to tackle football, she knows that every athlete has a competition expiration date. But her desire to advocate for her sport won’t end when she plays her final game.

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“I’m planning to go to law school somewhere on the West Coast,” said Gordon, the daughter of an attorney.

While the Title IX lawsuit pushing for girls tackle football in Utah high schools did not end as Gordon and others had hoped, the process sparked her interest in the legal profession.

Having skilled attorneys join the legal cause for girls tackle football in Utah added another level of legitimacy to the effort.

“That experience is something that I want to replicate going forward,” Gordon said. “I can be an advocate for others.”

Wildfires in Utah now demand constant attention. Even with “catastrophic fires” representing a small percentage of burns in the state, fire season is now a year-round reality.

Being prepared on a statewide and personal level for when fires start is the best way to safely coexist with the reality of wildfire, according to a new report released Wednesday by Gov. Spencer Cox.

Titled “Strengthening the State’s Wildfire Preparedness,” the report is the result of an executive order the governor signed in April to study and then bolster Utah’s wildfire preparations and “improve coordination among state, local, and federal partners ahead of the 2025 fire season.”

That order formed a working group made up of a number of state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources and the State Fire Marshall, who are responsible for firefighting.

The report shows the state has successfully reduced the number of human-caused fires in recent years, but people are still responsible for about half of the fires that start in the state.

Cox wrote on X that the report “outlines how we’re building on that success with improved coordination, faster response times, and proactive fuel reduction efforts across Utah.”

What’s the risk?

There were over 1,200 wildfires in Utah last year, burning 90,660 acres across the state. Of those fires, people caused 57%, according to the newly released report, which is significantly lower than the national average of 85% cited by the National Park Service. The vast majority of those wildfires were small — 10 acres or less — but larger burns still represent a “significant concern.”

Over the last three years, the state had a 67% reduction in human-triggered wildfires, which the governor credits to Utah’s wildfire prevention program, “Fire Sense.” The program, a collaborative effort of state and federal agencies, educates the public about the causes and danger of wildfires.

That being said, the report was clear that “despite ‘Fire Sense’ campaign successes, continued education is needed to reduce human-caused wildfires.”

Plan of action

There were several key suggestions the report made to bolster the state’s preparedness, including improving interagency coordination, greater community planning to mitigate risks, detailed contingency planning for things like evacuations, hiring and then retaining more firefighters, and providing more prevention education.

Among the challenges noted, the fact that Utah is heavily reliant on federal funding for a number of wildfire related costs — local fire departments and WUI mitigation among them — came up several times.

“Potential federal budget cuts, particularly to the U.S. Forest Service programs, jeopardize critical efforts and personnel,” the report said. The working group suggested Utah become less reliant on federal wildfire funding.

Then there is the fact that due to decades of fire suppression and drought, a vast amount of “fuel” — flammable vegetation like underbrush and grasses — have accumulated all over the state, creating excellent conditions for wildfires. Minimizing the risk this tinder poses requires expensive and specific mitigation processes called “fuel treatments.”

The report suggested that the state and local municipalities lead the charge on creating “defensible space” around their buildings. These are buffer zones where flammable materials and vegetation — fences, grasses or other shrubs — are kept a safe distance away from structures — a practice the report suggests private homeowners should also institute.

For each of 14 areas areas reviewed, there were a series of detailed recommendations that followed. Those included providing benefits for seasonal firefighters, increasing “state and partner resources for public awareness campaigns,” and advocating for a greater voice for state forestry agencies at the federal level.

With a unified commitment, the report reads, there is the potential to protect Utah’s communities, resources and vital infrastructure, even if the threat of wildfires continues to escalate as it has.

“By fostering a culture of preparedness … Utah can build greater resilience and navigate the complex challenges of a future with more frequent and intense wildfires.”