Rece Davis is done just pointing out the problem. After Notre Dame’s 28-24 loss at No. 8 BYU on Saturday night, he pushed for action.
The issue was a clock mistake that cost No. 2 Notre Dame one last snap at the end of the game.
The Big 12 later admitted that one second still remained when CJ Carr’s final throw into the end zone fell incomplete. Davis, reacting on the College GameDay Podcast, made his position plain: “administrative errors have to stop.”
He broke down the Irish’s two complaints on the final sequence separately.
“Notre Dame should have had another second. They also should have had pass interference called,” Davis said.
“I said on the podcast last week, I’m not going to go crazy over judgment calls like pass interference. I will go crazy over seconds on the clock.
Administrative errors have to stop. The stripes have to clean it up.
The game’s too good.”
The clock issue was not one the game had to live with. Under the rulebook, replay officials can put time back on the clock if it runs out too soon, which means the missing second could have been corrected immediately.
The pass interference piece was different. BYU cornerback Evan Johnson was involved in the contested play, and while the call was not made on the field, ESPN/ABC rules analyst Matt Austin said he “would’ve supported a DPI.”
Notre Dame had first-and-goal at the BYU 8-yard line with four seconds left when Carr targeted Jaden Greathouse. Replay showed one second still on the clock when the ball hit the turf.
The Big 12, which handled the officiating because Notre Dame is independent, said the play was “incorrectly cleared by the replay officiating crew” and added that it would conduct a full review of its end-of-game process before this week’s games.
It’s already the second major clock ruling of the season. In Week 1, the Big Ten restored one second, and Michigan used that extra tick to beat Western Michigan on a Hail Mary.
Davis also took the debate beyond Saturday’s finish and into the broader playoff conversation. The College Football Playoff is moving toward a possible expansion to 24 teams in 2027, but Davis argued this kind of night is a reason not to enlarge it.
“I know a lot of people are going to say, ‘See? See, Rece Davis ... you’re wrong.
This is why you need 24,’” Davis said. “I would argue this is perfect evidence to show why you don’t. ...
We need the chaos to have lasting impact.”
For Notre Dame, the next spotlight is already looming. Miami comes to Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 7, and Dan Wetzel called that matchup “a straight elimination game.” Davis added that a loss in that game would leave the Irish without “anything approximating Texas’ wins,” though Notre Dame would still receive a guaranteed playoff berth if it finishes ranked in the top 12.
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