College Football Faces Yet Another Last-Minute Controversy
Another controversy has emerged in college football, and this time it involves the No. 2 Notre Dame team. They faced off against No. 8 BYU in Provo, and after a close game, Notre Dame suffered its first loss of the season with a score of 28-24. However, the Big 12 released a statement on Sunday morning, admitting that a second should have been added back to the clock, allowing the Fighting Irish one last chance to attempt a game-winning play.
According to the Big 12’s review, it was concluded that there was indeed time remaining when the ball hit the ground, and the replay crew made an error by clearing the play. The statement went on to say, “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
Adding to the tension of the game, it appeared that BYU committed defensive pass interference on what ended up being the last play. When the incomplete pass from quarterback CJ Carr hit the ground in the end zone on first-and-goal from the nine-yard line, a second was still visible on the clock. Confusion reigned as officials huddled briefly before declaring the game over, leading BYU fans to storm the field at Lavell Edwards Stadium.
Interestingly, ESPN’s rules analyst Matt Austin expressed his belief that there should have been a DPI call against BYU, which would have given Notre Dame another opportunity. “I think it warranted a flag,” Austin commented during the broadcast. “That’s a lot of contact where you’re not playing the ball… I would’ve supported a DPI.”
This isn’t the first time a clock error has impacted a game this season. In their opener, Michigan was also controversially given an additional second, which allowed them to pull off a Hail Mary pass for a victory against Western Michigan.
Saturday saw a shakeup in college football rankings, with five out of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 poll facing losses. Among them, No. 1 Georgia fell to Auburn, No. 5 Indiana lost to Ohio State, No. 6 Alabama was defeated by Tennessee, and No. 7 Texas lost to Florida. It’s a wild season, for sure.
