The initial debate for many viewers tuned into the hectic ending of No. 8 BYU’s 28-24 win over No. 2 Notre Dame was whether officials should have called a defensive pass interference penalty against the Cougars on the final play of the game. Turns out, officials missed something much more egregious.
The Big 12 released a statement late Saturday night that the game clock should have had one second left following the first-down incompletion from the 8-yard line that appeared to end the game, and that the league’s replay center was wrong not to have intervened.
“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 statement read. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
Several replays of the final play showed that Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr’s pass attempt to wide receiver Jaden Greathouse hit the turf inside LaVell Edwards Stadium with one second left on the clock. By rule, that should’ve allowed the Fighting Irish one more play from BYU’s 8-yard line.
The ABC score bug showed one second left once the ball hit the turf, as did shots of clocks inside the stadium.
“You have to review it,” Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira told The Athletic on Saturday night. “That had to be reviewed immediately.
“It is embarrassing for all officiating, quite frankly. 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. I understand missing pass interference. This, especially after what happened six weeks ago, it’s embarrassing. They get one more play.”
Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, now rules analyst for NBC, also weighed in on social media after the game.
“As some have noted, there was indeed :01 on the bug clock when the pass hit the ground (BYU/ND),” McAulay wrote. “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.”
On the game broadcast, ABC went to its rules analyst, Matt Austin, to discuss whether officials should have flagged BYU cornerback Evan Johnson for defensive pass interference in the end zone while jockeying with Greathouse. But the announcers did not ask Austin about the clock.
“I think it warranted a flag,” Austin said. “That’s a lot of contact where you’re not playing the ball, you’re just playing the receiver. A lot of contact, grabbing the arm. … I would’ve supported a DPI.”
Saturday’s ending is the latest controversy regarding time on the clock this college football season. In Week 1, Michigan escaped what would’ve been a historic loss to Western Michigan at home after officials put a second back on the clock, which allowed for a Hail Mary attempt that secured the win for the Wolverines.
The clock controversy at the end of the Western Michigan at Michigan game this season was due to a discrepancy between the in-stadium game clock and the game clock visible on the television broadcast, with replay officials citing the in-stadium clock to put one second on the clock and give Michigan one more chance at a game-winning play.
That did not appear to be the issue in this situation. Numerous camera angles of the Notre Dame at BYU ending showed there was still one second on the multiple in-stadium game clocks and the clock visible on the television broadcast when the final incomplete pass hits the ground.
The NCAA said in a statement after the WMU-Michigan game that its rules do not include a protocol for overturning the outcome of a game, after the Mid-American Conference sent letters to the NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee and College Football Playoff requesting both to have official records reflect a Western Michigan victory.
— Bruce Feldman contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.