15-yard penalty that effectively guarantees a punt AND gives them a free timeout. Honestly it’s hard to imagine a more consequential referee decision than that.
I’m not suggesting refs swallow their whistles in crucial moments or at the end of games but you better darn well make sure someone threw a friggin punch or was EGREGIOUSLY giving ‘em the business before you throw a flag in that situation.
I can live with a holding call that’s questionable or a PI or pretty much anything no matter when it occurs if the ref is doing their best to call live action plays real time. But dead ball fouls that are literally game-changing (except that our defense stepped up one last time) can’t happen. They just can’t. I hope the Big 12 make this a point of emphasis for the referees.