Chaos reigns after Arizona State fans storm the field early out of anger against BYU

Arizona State fans celebrated a decisive win over No. 14 BYU with a ferocious field storm that destroyed the goal posts and nearly covered the turf at Sun Devil Stadium.

And then the officials decided there was one second left.

In one of the most chaotic finals in recent college football history, thousands of Sun Devils fans tried to leave the field so BYU could have another chance in the end zone. On the fourth-and-goal, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt had thrown the ball high and low, thinking the game would be over, but replay showed the ball went out of bounds with one second left. The result was a turnover on downs.

Unfortunately, getting thousands of people to return to their seats in a huge stadium is quite difficult, similar to putting toothpaste back in the tube. The officials were content to simply get the fans off the field. And put the goalposts back up.

Just try a taste of the chaos for yourself:

Thirteen minutes later, trailing 28-23 and with Arizona State fans packed on the sidelines, BYU went for the win. The Cougars came shockingly close to a miracle when Jake Retzlaff got the ball to wide receiver Chase Roberts, but Roberts fell just short of the end zone (the play was curiously ruled incomplete, although it probably would have been overturned if it mattered).

Arizona State stormed the field again, inflicting some ugliness on the BYU players.

Oddly enough, there is precedent for officials simply awarding Arizona State the win after the Sun Devils acted like the game was over, but in this case some semblance of control allowed the game to actually be played.

The win plunges the Big 12 into further chaos on a day that also saw No. 16 Colorado lose to Kansas. There is now a possibility of a four-way tie in the completely open division. If more devastation occurs, Arizona State will likely be ready.