PROVO, Utah — The Big 12 Conference acknowledged that replay officials made a critical error by failing to put one second back on the game clock at the end of BYU’s 28-24 upset victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night.
The miscue cost the Fighting Irish one final snap from inside the Cougars’ 10-yard line at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr threw an incomplete pass intended for wide receiver Jaden Greathouse in the end zone as the final seconds ticked away. Although the game was declared over and fans rushed the field, video replays showed the football struck the turf with one second still visible on the stadium clock, ESPN reported.
Conference Admits Replay Failure
Because Notre Dame is an independent football program, visiting matchups are officiated by crews from the host team’s league. Following a postgame review, the Big 12 admitted that the replay booth failed to properly review the timing before letting the final result stand.
“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 Big 12 said in an official statement. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
The blunder drew harsh criticism from officiating experts. Longtime Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira told The Athletic that the error was “embarrassing for all officiating quite frankly.” Pereira emphasized that managing the clock via replay does not involve subjective opinion, noting: “Everybody gets brought into this, even the NFL and high school officiating because it is such a ridiculous miss that has nothing to do with judgment. Nothing.”
Controversy Caps Wild Finish
The controversial ending capped a back-and-forth second half between the two ranked opponents. Notre Dame, ranked second in the nation by major outlets, entered the night with an opportunity to claim the top spot in college football following a loss by No. 1 Georgia earlier Saturday, NBC Sports reported. ClutchPoints listed Notre Dame at No. 3 entering the matchup, while BYU entered the night ranked eighth.
After facing a 21-10 deficit at halftime, the Irish mounted a second-half rally to grab a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter. No. 8 BYU answered when Walker Lyons scored a touchdown with under two minutes left on the clock, putting the Cougars ahead 28-24.
Notre Dame drove downfield for one last scoring chance. In addition to the timing problem, Irish supporters and observers argued that BYU cornerback Evan Johnson committed uncalled pass interference against Greathouse before the final pass fell incomplete, Bleacher Report noted. Had pass interference been called, the Irish would have advanced inside the 5-yard line.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman declined to publicly dispute the clock management directly in postgame comments, instead characterizing the chaotic final sequence as “chaos,” ESPN reported.
What Comes Next
The controversy marks the second prominent college football clock dispute this fall. Earlier this season, Michigan defeated Western Michigan on a final-play Hail Mary after officials determined one second remained on the stadium clock despite broadcast timers expiring.
The Big 12 stated that it will inspect its late-game replay protocols before the upcoming slate of conference games. Notre Dame has an open date to regroup before returning to action against Navy on Oct. 31.
