1. BYU had 1st and 10 with 1:25 left in the game. SMU had 1 timeout, and would have needed at least 2 to force a punt.
2. SMU did the math and decided not to take their timeout when BYU knelt on first down, effectively conceding the game.
3. BYU, in turn, ran out the clock assuming SMU would not use their timeout, because that's what SMU signaled by not using it on first down, and that's in fact what SMU did.
Both sides were fully aware of the situation and acted appropriately, and with class and sportsmanship. Plenty of other things to criticize in the game if you want to do that, but this is a literal nothingburger.