Did phantom holding penalty keep Iowa State unbeaten?

Butch Jones long ago began climbing through the college coaching ranks by taking upstart underdogs and generating upset-win opportunities. 

Jones and his Arkansas State team might have been robbed of a potential touchdown that might have proved the difference in a narrow loss to unbeaten, now-No. 12 Iowa State. Actually, Arkansas State had two second-half touchdowns negated by penalties called by the Big 12 officiating crew in what turned out to be an 24-16 loss. The Cyclones were favored by 21.5 points in their road-trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas,, for the game. 

Take a look at the play below, which negated an Arkansas State touchdown that would have lifted the Red Wolves to an 20-17 lead with 12 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

"Let me just say: I've been doing this a long time, and we have the luxury of having an iPad on the sideline," Jones, who's won 104 games as an NCAA head coach and guided Arkansas State to consecutive bowl games, said. "So, usually, before I get agitated, I will look at the iPad, or if I do get agitated before the iPad, I will get back to the official and tell them you made a good call. But we have the luxury the don't of the iPad but let's just say that ... I think you know what I'm going to say.

"It's really inexcusable. There's a professional level of things, and I'll just leave it like that, that was unacceptable. And the individual who's in charge of their officials (at the Big 12 Conference) worked for me at the University of Tennessee and he's already gotten a call and about 10 text messages. There's nothing you can do. Did that one play cost us the game? No, but we scored twice in a row, we have the momentum, our kids are battling and there's just no place for it in the game. And that's all I'll say. 

"I don't think he likes this one, and I don't like it, either. I don't see a lot. There was restriction ... I don't see much."

Jones revealed that he reached out to the Big 12 Conference office because Saturday's officiating crew was comprised of referee Cravonne Barrett, umpire Rick Podraza, linesman Kirk Mattson, Lark Jones, Jim Sima, Mark Estermeyer, and Fulton Carson. 

Arkansas State, now 1-2 on the season after tough back-to-back games against Arkansas and Iowa State, faces Kennesaw State Saturday, with the Owls also having Tennessee ties. They're lead by first-year coach Jerry Mack, a former Vols assistant coach.