the 2012 BYU-Utah game after BYU missed their first FG attempt (but the ball landed in the field of play so it was still a live ball/live play)?
That was an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Utah "sideline" (e.g. "non-players"), and the resulting penalty was 15 yards from the previous spot and a replay of the down. Had your reasoning been applied, the missed FG would have been counted and Utah would have had the ball 1st-and-10, but with a 15 yard penalty backing them up. So did the refs get the call wrong that time? Or are you mistaken on the rule?