What is it with college football fans rushing the field too soon this season?
The latest trend in college football feels like the fan equivalent of dropping the ball before crossing the goal line. Saturday saw Arizona State become the third fanbase in the last month to commit the absurd sin — but it was easily the most chaotic.
As the No. 21 Sun Devils hosted No. 14 BYU in a game with Big 12 championship — and College Football Playoff — implications, Arizona State fans thought the game was after running out the clock on fourth down near midfield with a 28-23 lead. In fact, there was one second left on the clock, which meant BYU still had a chance at a Hail Mary to pull off the comeback.
But all of that had to be sorted out while fans were actively rushing the field, creating absolute madness as coaches, players and fans tried to spread the word that the game was not over.
Arizona State fans prematurely rushed the field and took down the goal post with one second left in the game 😬 pic.twitter.com/yRENXDqcVb
— ESPN (@espn) November 24, 2024
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 24, 2024
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 24, 2024
Getting all the fans back to their seats wasn’t exactly realistic. Instead, the officials decided to clear the field as much as possible. Which meant packing fans along the sidelines in a truly bizarre scene.
— wow that was crazy (@CowardlyDoggo) November 24, 2024
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 24, 2024
About 20 minutes after fans first rushed the field, play was finally able to resume. BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff dropped back, bought himself some time and heaved a ball all the way down to the two-yard line. Game over. Arizona State wins. And the fans got to rush again — this time without any barriers.
THE HAIL MARY IS CAUGHT BUT SHORT!!! NOW IT’S OVER! pic.twitter.com/6YKf0zEUrR
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 24, 2024
Arizona State wins after all, and students with their phones out immediately swarm BYU players to point at them. pic.twitter.com/RMDAdZRNzm
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 24, 2024
Thankfully this worked out for Arizona State, but we’ve really got to chill on this trend. Just wait til the clock hits zero before you celebrate a win.
