BOSTON — Matt Ryan and Ryan Ohliger had a chance to make up for their mistakes. And so did the officials.
Ryan threw a touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez on the first play of the second overtime Saturday, then No. 23 Boston College waited for a replay review to verify Jamie Silva's game-ending interception and the Eagles escaped with a 30-23 victory over BYU.
"I was telling them that it was a pick. One guy was real sure that it wasn't, so we had to go to the tape," Silva said. "The tape doesn't lie."
It was the second consecutive double-overtime game for Boston College (3-0), and the second in a row that was helped by not-so-instant replay. The Eagles won last week on a blocked extra point after a replay negated a Clemson interception, but the call in the BYU (1-2) game was the decisive one.
"Just another day at the ballpark for us," said BC coach Tom O'Brien, who set a school record with his 69th victory here. "Thank God we have replay this year."
Both teams missed field goals in the first OT and Ryan, who was picked off twice in regulation, found Gonzalez in the front of the end zone near the right pylon. Ohliger, who was booed after missing two extra points and a field goal, converted the PAT.
"It's terrible when the fans lose confidence in you. Not only that, but when your team loses confidence in you," he said. "The two extra points — I'm completely capable of making those. I just lost my concentration. It's not going to happen again."
BYU got a first down at the 14, but on the next play John Beck's pass was tipped into the air by linebacker Brain Francois. Silva dove to get his fingers under the deflection before it hit the turf, and BC players ran onto the field to celebrate.
Umpire Gary Crum ruled it incomplete and sent them back to the sideline. But it was an obvious candidate for replay review, and O'Brien sidled over to one official to lobby his case.
"I said, 'I hope he has the guts to make the right call,"' O'Brien said. "A lot of times you won't see them reverse the call on the field."
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall huddled his team up to prepare for the second down play.
"It never crossed our minds" that the game was over, running back Curtis Brown said.
After failing to get a signal in the first set of headsets, referee Terry Leyden ran 60 yards downfield for another set. Following a delay of several minutes, he declared the pass intercepted and the celebration began anew.
"Our team simply was one play short," Mendenhall said.
Ryan was 29-for-48 for 356 yards and two touchdowns, but he also gave BYU a chance to win when Kelly Poppinga picked him off with 20 seconds left in regulation. Jared McLaughlin missed a field goal attempt from 51 yards out with 8 seconds left.
Brandon Robinson caught seven passes for 140 yards, and Gonzalez caught two TDs for the Eagles.
Beck completed 38 of 59 passes for 436 yards to pass Steve Young and move into sixth place on the school's all-time list. He had two interceptions and one touchdown, hitting Brown 11 times for 94 yards and Matt Allen six times for 108.
He was unavailable after the game because he was being evaluated for an ankle injury.
BYU advanced to the 10 in the first overtime before an illegal block pushed it back to the 26. The snap on the field goal try went through holder Jason Beck's hands; McLaughlin picked it up and rolled right but his pass was incomplete.
Despite Ohliger's problems, BC didn't go for a touchdown in the first OT before sending him out for a 38-yard attempt that was blocked by Russell Tialavea. That might have caught BYU off-guard when the Eagles went for it all on the first play of the second OT.
BC got a break at the end of regulation after forcing BYU to punt from its own 15. DeJuan Tribble fumbled the return, and it bounced off players on both teams before J. Survival Ross snagged it an advanced it the rest of the way to the BC 39.
But three plays later, Ryan's pass was tipped by defensive lineman Hala Paongo and picked off by linebacker Poppinga at the BYU 48 with 20 seconds left. Beck hit Daniel Coats on second down for 18 yards to the BC 34, setting up a 51-yard attempt.
The kick — it would have been a career longest for McLaughlin — sailed hopelessly left and short.