College football’s officiating mess is getting harder to shrug off.
Bad calls have always been part of the sport, and referees are dealing with a brutal job. But this season has started to feel different, with too many controversial rulings landing in the most important moments of big games. The latest example came on Saturday night in Provo, where Notre Dame’s loss to BYU ended with a clock issue that should have given the Fighting Irish one more snap.
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said on X, “There was indeed :01 on the bug clock when the pass hit the ground. 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,”
The Big 12 later acknowledged the mistake in a 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 complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games,”
That wasn’t even the only officiating controversy on the day. Ohio State almost had a major win at Indiana turned on its head by a roughing the passer penalty that should never have been called.
The flag extended an Indiana drive and nearly set up a game-winning touchdown for the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes survived anyway, but the sequence added another ugly chapter to a season already stacked with them.
Michigan’s clock controversy kicked things off earlier in the year, and now there’s another one to put alongside it. At this point, the issue is no longer easy to dismiss. College football has an officiating problem, and it needs to be cleaned up fast.
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Ohio State's Huge Win May Have Come With A Serious Cost
Ohio States 19-15 win over Indiana carried all the weight youd expect from a top-tier road result, snapping the Hoosiers 22-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss in 19 games. Julian Sayin supplied the defining play with a 38-yard touchdown strike, and the Buckeyes did just enough in a tight, physical game where every possession felt magnified.
The concern afterward centered on Sayin, who appeared to injure his right arm during the game, leaving an already significant victory with a lingering question for Ohio States offense. Indiana also had a chance to flip the afternoon when Nick Marsh appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown, only for the play to be wiped away because he stepped out of bounds, a sequence that only added to the drama of a game decided by thin margins. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Got A USC Problem It Didn't Want
Ohio State left Indiana with a hard-fought 19-15 win, but the postgame mood was quickly tempered by a more troubling development. Quarterback Julian Sayin suffered a shoulder injury in the comeback victory and is expected to miss several weeks, forcing the Buckeyes to turn to freshman Luke Fahey at a position where continuity matters plenty as the season moves deeper into the grind.
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. also exited limping with an ankle injury, adding to a growing list of bodies the Buckeyes may have to manage in the coming stretch. For a team still sorting through other absences, the timing is less than ideal, and it puts extra pressure on the supporting cast to steady things while Ohio State waits to learn how much it can get back and when. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Learned How Fragile This Offense Might Be
Ohio States defense did enough to keep Indiana in check in a 19-15 win, smothering the Hoosiers on the ground and making Josh Hoover earn nearly every throw he completed. Indiana managed only 73 rushing yards, and while Hoover still finished with 296 passing yards and a touchdown, he was under constant pressure as the Buckeyes front helped carry a game that never felt comfortable.
The bigger concern, though, landed on the other side of the ball when Julian Sayin went down and is expected to miss several weeks. For an offense that already looked like it could use more breathing room, that kind of injury puts an even sharper spotlight on every snap moving forward, even with Jeremiah Smith adding another milestone by tying a Big Ten career touchdown record in the win. [Read more 🡒]