The Big 12 said Saturday night’s ending in Provo should have lasted one more snap.
After No. 8 BYU escaped with a 28-24 win over No.
2 Notre Dame, the conference acknowledged that replay officials missed the fact that one second should have gone back on the clock after CJ Carr’s incomplete pass in the final seconds. That meant the Irish were denied a chance at one last play from the Cougars’ 8-yard-line.
“Following the Big 12’s review of the final play of Saturday’s Notre Dame-BYU game, it was determined that time remained on the clock when the ball hit the ground and the play was incorrectly cleared by the replay officiating crew,” the conference said. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of the end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
The play in question came in the south end zone at LaVell Edwards Stadium, where Carr tried to connect with Jaden Greathouse against BYU cornerback Evan Johnson. Multiple replays appeared to show the ball hitting the turf with one second left, which would have given Notre Dame another chance from close range.
BYU fans poured onto the field almost immediately after the pass fell incomplete, celebrating what looked like the final whistle. The Big 12’s statement later made clear that the ending should not have been over yet.
The conference’s review also exposed a mistake in the aftermath of the play. BYU coach Kalani Sitake said after the game that the clock issue didn’t matter because “it was fourth down.”
It wasn’t. Notre Dame had already moved the chains on a 5-yard completion from Carr to Micah Gilbert with five seconds left, then used a timeout to stop the clock and set up the next snap.
The timing debate drew attention beyond the stadium as well. Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, now a rules analyst for NBC, said on social media that “there was indeed :01 on the bug clock when the pass hit the ground (BYU/ND). Replay should have reviewed to determine if the in-stadium clock was at :01 at that point and if so, ND would have had one more play.”
There was also another officiating point on the broadcast. ABC rules analyst Matt Austin didn’t weigh in on the clock issue, but he did say BYU should have been called for defensive pass interference on the same play.
“I think it warranted a flag,” Austin said. “That’s a lot of contact where you’re not playing the ball, you’re just playing the receiver. … I would have supported a DPI.”
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