Arizona State’s coach flabbergasted by Pac-12 ref making wrong hand sign for a safety

Arizona State took the lead on Utah late in the third quarter of its loss to the Utes, thanks to a safety the Sun Devils got when Utah decided to throw a forward pass in its own end zone on a kickoff.

Usually, an illegal forward pass is a loss of down, but just like post penalties that occur in the end zone, it was a safety in this situation. Apparently not paying attention to the spot, one of the Pac-12 refs signaled for just a loss of down, and ASU coach Todd Graham couldn’t believe it.

The refs ended up getting it right, but this wasn’t a banner call for the much-maligned Pac-12 refs. But this is what happens when you play a game after dark in the Pac-12. You have to know the refs are going to mess up.