The Big 12 has ruled that Notre Dame should have been allowed another play at the end of its 28-24 loss at BYU, according to CBS Sports' Richard Johnson. The clock still showed :01 when officials erroneously ruled the game over. The summaries we have don't say whether the league is taking any further action, and they don't quote the league's statement. The score stands.
Yahoo Sports' accounts describe the final sequence as an incompletion in BYU's end zone. The Fighting Irish had driven to the Cougars' 4-yard line, and BYU stopped the drive there as time expired. Yahoo ran a separate piece asking whether officials missed a defensive pass interference call on that last throw. Another Yahoo headline calls it a "controversial no call." The Big 12 ruling, as CBS summarizes it, is about the clock and the lost snap. Whether pass interference should have been flagged is a different question, and the material we have doesn't settle it. Our box score's last recorded play is a Notre Dame timeout with the clock at 00:04, which is consistent with a very short window to work with.
The game itself was close. Notre Dame's CJ Carr threw 49 times for 261 yards with no touchdowns. The Irish converted just 8 of 19 third downs, though they went 4-for-4 on fourth down. Kicker Spencer Porath hit three field goals, and Nolan James Jr. and Jonaz Walton each scored a rushing touchdown. Jaden Greathouse caught eight passes for 125 yards. Notre Dame led only briefly in the third quarter, when it outscored BYU 6-0, before BYU scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth.
Yahoo credits Bear Bachmeier with four touchdowns and a late scoring drive. Our box score accounts for them. He ran for two scores, threw one touchdown pass and caught another, a 15-yard reception from Kyler Kasper. He also completed 23 of 36 passes for 224 yards and threw one interception. BYU was 8-for-12 on third down and finished with 360 yards to Notre Dame's 376.
The result ended Notre Dame's 16-game winning streak, per Yahoo. Yahoo also reported the Irish had a path to No. 1, and that BYU's win kept them from getting there. The latest AP poll we hold, from Oct. 11, had Notre Dame second at 6-0 and BYU eighth at 5-0. Those rankings predate this game and will be reshuffled. Notre Dame is now 6-1 and has no conference games, so its only route back is through the polls and its remaining schedule. BYU is 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12, first in the conference, with a six-game winning streak. Its earlier wins over Iowa State (24-10) and at TCU (17-10) were also close.
BYU plays at UCF on Saturday, Oct. 24. Notre Dame goes to Navy on Oct. 31. The Irish are coming off a 58-7 win over Stanford the week before this loss.
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