Kyle Whittingham did not want to comment on the offensive pass interference call levied against the Utes late in Saturday’s 35-28 loss to Washington, but he didn’t need to. Those that saw the call likely know Whittingham’s thoughts on it.

“The refs got their money’s worth today,” Whittingham said as he pointed to the eight penalties called against Utah.

Between the two teams, 19 flags were thrown. Utah was called eight times, resulting in 97 lost yards. Washington was flagged 11 times for 100 yards — a persistent issue for the Huskies this season. Few were as head-scratching as the offensive pass interference call on Utah with just over nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Tight end Miki Suguturaga was flagged. It’s hard to tell from the TV angle what exactly he was flagged for. But it negated a second-and-4 completion to Devaughn Vele that went for 8 yards and backed Utah up.

Two unsuccessful plays later and Utah punted the football away.

Washington, which took over with 8:26 on the clock and a seven-point lead on the scoreboard, didn’t give the ball back until 1:38 to play.

Utah was outscored 11-0 in the second half. It had just 76 yards of offense, but it also only had the football for 8:45. Washington completely controlled the clock and held onto the ball for more than 21 of the 30 second-half minutes.

“We just couldn’t get in sync in the second half,” Whittingham said.

Add in five penalties — including the one that short-circuited the first of only two fourth-quarter possessions — and it’s not hard to see why.