The Big 12 finally got the kind of marquee win it has been chasing, and somehow the conference still walked away with the perception problem intact.
No. 8 BYU’s 28-24 upset of No.
2 Notre Dame on Saturday night in Provo should have been a clean banner moment for the league. Instead, the finish turned into a mess of officiating and clock controversy that quickly overshadowed what the Cougars accomplished on the field.
The first flashpoint came on Notre Dame’s final throw into the end zone from the BYU eight-yard line. There was significant contact between BYU defensive back Evan Johnson and Notre Dame receiver Jaden Greathouse, and replays appeared to show Johnson restricting Greathouse’s right arm. It was a difficult call, but the kind of play that looked, by the letter of the law, like it could have drawn a pass interference flag.
Still, missed calls like that happen. College football sees them every week, especially when everything is riding on one snap. Officials often swallow the whistle in that moment because they do not want to become part of the outcome.
That would have been one thing. The bigger problem came after the game.
The Big 12 later issued a statement saying there had actually been one second left on the clock when Notre Dame’s final pass hit the ground, meaning the Irish were denied one last play to try to steal the game.
Big 12 statement:
"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 will conduct a…
That decision flipped the entire conversation. Instead of celebrating BYU’s win over one of the nation’s top teams, the Big 12 spent Sunday morning dealing with the fallout from a replay mistake that made the league look less like a rising power and more like it had mishandled the biggest stage it could have asked for.
The damage goes beyond one game. Notre Dame now has a ready-made grievance, and that could matter if the Irish end up on the playoff bubble.
They still have Miami on November 7 in South Bend, and Miami is expected to be the new No. 1 in the next polls. If Notre Dame loses that game and finishes 10-2, its best win would be over SMU, which is currently 24th.
Even so, the Provo controversy gives the selection committee a simple path if it wants to push Notre Dame into the field as a two-loss team. The Irish can point to the ending of the BYU game and argue the loss should be discounted because of the clock issue.
That could come at the Big 12’s expense. If the conference runner-up has one or two losses, the league could be squeezed out in favor of a two-loss Notre Dame team, especially if that is what television executives want.
There is also the matter of Notre Dame’s playoff protection. If the Irish finish in the top 12 of the selection committee rankings, they are guaranteed a playoff berth under contract. So a two-loss Notre Dame team sitting at No. 12 and the Big 12 title game loser at No. 13 would not be a shocking outcome.
If that happens, there is every reason to believe the conversation will center on Notre Dame being robbed in Provo, not on the Big 12 being cheated. And that is what makes this such a rough Sunday for the conference: even when it gets the win it needs, the Big 12 still somehow ends up losing the story.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Has An Offensive Issue Bigger Games Keep Exposing
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Notre Dames third-down conversion rate sits at No. 39 nationally, which is respectable on paper but not nearly enough for the kind of games the Irish are now playing. Earlier in the year, superior talent could cover for some of those empty possessions, but against a similarly skilled opponent, the inability to stay on the field became impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
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Anthonie Knapp also landed on On3s second team, giving Notre Dame another notable midseason recognition, but Traores selection feels like the one that really captures what has been happening on defense. The only concern for Irish fans is that Traores recent early exit raised a fresh question around his availability, and with no other Notre Dame players on the list, the spotlight on him feels even brighter as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames Dominant Run Defense Faces Its Biggest Question Yet
Notre Dames run defense has been one of the defining strengths of its season, and the numbers back it up. Through seven games, the Irish rank third nationally against the run, allowing just 67.3 rushing yards per game, and they have been especially steady against Power Five opponents, holding those teams to 67.8 yards on the ground while giving up only three rushing touchdowns.
The bigger test, though, is whether that front can keep carrying the load when the opponents quarterback can hurt defenses with his legs. Recent top-ranked units have shown that stopping designed runs and scrambles from mobile passers is often the difference between a very good rush defense and a truly suffocating one, and that is the area Notre Dame still has to prove. [Read more 🡒]