BYU walked off with a win over Notre Dame in Provo, and the finish is already drawing plenty of attention for all the wrong reasons.
The Cougars took advantage of a late chance after Notre Dame had surged back with 14 straight second-half points. BYU answered with a touchdown in the closing minutes to go ahead by four with under two minutes left, setting up one final desperate series for the Fighting Irish.
CJ Carr got Notre Dame all the way to the goal line, giving the Irish one last shot to steal it. On the final snap, Carr fired a fade toward Jaden Greathouse, but the pass sailed incomplete over his head.
The problem, as many watching saw it, was everything around the throw. Greathouse appeared to get tangled up with BYU defender Omar Thornton on the play, but no flag came out for pass interference. That no-call became the defining moment of the game.
Matt Austin, ESPN’s rules analyst, said on the broadcast that he believed a penalty should have been called.
"I think it warranted a flag," he said. "That'a lot of contact when you're not playing the ball, you're just playing the receiver.
A lot of contact, grabbing the arm. I would have supported a DPI."
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay also agreed that the play should have been flagged.
The final sequence may have had one more twist, too. Replay officials appeared to miss that there was still one second left on the clock when Carr’s pass hit the turf, which would have given Notre Dame another snap.
Since pass interference is not reviewable, the no-call stood and BYU’s win was locked in as soon as the officials let the play go.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman did not comment on the no-call.
The result gave Notre Dame its first loss of the season, while BYU stayed unbeaten.
In Other News...
Jazz May Be Better Prepared For Life After Walker Kessler Than Expected
Walker Kesslers departure to the Lakers could have left a glaring hole in the middle of Utahs defense, but the early signs suggest the Jazz may have done more homework than expected. Jaxson Hayes and Mo Bamba were brought in to help cover the rim, and the preseason numbers hinted at a group that was already keeping opponents away from the basket more often than a lot of teams do.
The harder part is still hanging over the frontcourt. Utah can piece together minutes and body types at center, but replacing Kesslers rebounding presence is a different challenge altogether, especially with Jusuf Nurkic dealing with a toe injury. For now, it looks like the Jazz are leaning into a center-by-committee plan and hoping the depth chart can hold up where the box score tends to expose teams the quickest. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Opening Night Lineup Suddenly Has One Big New Question
Utahs 2026-27 opening-night picture has mostly come into focus, with the roster set enough that the attention now shifts from who is making the team to how the rotation will actually look when the season begins. The Jazz have been dealing with preseason injury adjustments, and that has already nudged the frontcourt mix as the staff sorts through its first five, second unit and the rest of the depth chart.
The biggest question sits right in the middle of the floor, where the team suddenly has to lean on a different presence than planned. With the rest of the starting group expected to include Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Darryn Peterson, the center spot has become the one unresolved piece that shapes everything else, from early rotations to how the reserves are used behind it. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Face One Roster Question That Could Decide Their Ceiling
The Jazz are heading into the 2026-27 season with a roster that invites as much projection as certainty. A young core, Will Hardy on the bench and the arrival of Darryn Peterson have created a lot of optimism around how far the group can push its offense, with the kind of upside that could carry a team into the leagues top 10 if everything clicks.
The bigger question may be what happens down the middle, where Jusuf Nurkic is the veteran placeholder for now. He is expected to miss the first couple of weeks with a foot injury from preseason, and the front office could eventually be forced to address the spot in a bigger way as the season unfolds, including the possibility of using the trade flexibility created in the Walker Kessler deal. [Read more 🡒]