The ending of Notre Dame’s 28-24 loss to BYU was already the kind of finish that gets argued about for days. Then the Big 12 stepped in early Sunday morning and made it clear the final snap never should have been the final snap.
After No. 2 Notre Dame needed a touchdown on the last play to beat No.
8 BYU on Saturday, CJ Carr launched a pass toward Jade Greathouse that hit the turf in the end zone. Officials then ended the game after a short discussion, and BYU fans rushed the field at Lavell Edwards Stadium.
But the conference said there was still time left.
In a statement released early Sunday morning, the Big 12 said Notre Dame should have had another play because there were :01 remaining on the clock.
"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 complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week's games."
The clock mistake adds another strange wrinkle to a season already seeing its share of officiating chaos. In Week 1, Michigan was awarded an extra second against Western Michigan and turned it into a successful Hail Mary. This one feels different, though, because the Big 12’s own review says there was no question that time should have been put back on the clock.
What remains to be seen is how the College Football Playoff Committee handles the fallout when it eventually weighs Notre Dame and BYU later in the season.
In Other News...
Notre Dames BYU Loss Just Got Even More Infuriating
The sting from Notre Dames loss at BYU got sharper when the Big 12 acknowledged that an officiating error affected the games final sequence. One second remained on the clock, but it was not properly accounted for, and the replay crew incorrectly cleared the play that ended the game. For Notre Dame, that meant no extra snap on 2nd and goal and no chance to keep pushing for a late score.
The conference said it will review its end-of-game officiating process after the incident, a step that may matter less to the Irish than the result already does. In a tight game, one second is more than a technicality, and the acknowledgment only adds to the frustration over how it ended. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A Painful Reminder About Its Biggest Problem
Notre Dame got a stark reminder in Provo that the margin for error remains slim, even when the offense does enough to keep the game alive. At LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Irish spent most of the night chasing Brigham Young before briefly grabbing the lead late, only to watch the Cougars answer with under two minutes left in a 28-24 loss.
The result fit a familiar frustration for Notre Dame, which again found itself in a tight game where one stop, one clean sequence or one timely play could have changed the outcome. A significant defensive ejection added to the tension, and the late comeback bid had the kind of urgency the Irish needed, but not quite enough finish to turn it into a road win. [Read more 🡒]
Marcus Freeman Addresses What Went Wrong In Notre Dame's Costly Loss
Marcus Freeman spent his postgame time going straight to the two areas that hurt Notre Dame most in a costly loss to BYU: defensive discipline and red-zone execution. The defeat snapped the Irish's 16-game winning streak, and Freeman pointed to the problems BYU's misdirection offense created while also acknowledging that Notre Dame left points on the field with missed chances near the goal line.
Freeman also noted the adjustments the Irish tried to make after halftime, but the broader concern remains the same one that follows any tight loss to a quality opponent: execution in critical moments. For Notre Dame, the answer is not about effort or intent as much as cleaning up the details that determine whether a promising drive becomes a field goal, a touchdown or nothing at all. [Read more 🡒]