BYU snatched a huge upset win against Notre Dame in Provo, moving them to 6-0, but the entire college football world is buzzing about the controversial final play and some questionable non-calls from the officials. It was a wild finish to Saturday’s college football action, with every team in the top eight in a close battle, but this one definitely takes the cake for drama and post-game talk.
The Final Drive That Blew Up
Notre Dame fought their way back in the second half, putting up 14 straight points to make it a real game. But then BYU scored a late touchdown, putting them up by four points with less than two minutes on the clock. You’d think that’s it, right? Nah. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, who already had a rough moment with a fumble costing them points at halftime, led his offense down the field in less than two minutes, getting them to the Cougars goalline with a chance to win.
The final play was a fade pass from Carr to wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. Greathouse had a monster night already, reeling in eight catches for 125 yards. But Carr’s final pass sailed incomplete over Greathouse’s head. Game over, BYU wins. Or was it?
The Call That Wasn’t, And The Clock That Stopped
Immediately, the discussion started: was Greathouse interfered with? Replays totally show contact between Greathouse and BYU defender Omar Thornton as the ball was in the air. The refs chose not to throw a flag, but man, it looked like there should’ve been one.
ESPN rules analyst Matt Austin jumped on the broadcast, flat out saying he thought it was pass interference. “I think it warranted a flag,” he said. “That’s 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 totally agreed, stating on social media that the contact by the BYU defender was defensive pass interference.
And get this, it wasn’t just the no-call. Replay officials might have missed that there was still *one second left* on the game clock when Carr’s pass hit the ground. So, not only a controversial non-call, but potentially another missed opportunity for Notre Dame to get one more snap. Ouch. Head coach Marcus Freeman didn’t even want to touch the pass interference question after the game, just saying, “It was chaos, man.” He did mention the fade to Greathouse was a reaction to BYU’s pressure and that the Irish hadn’t hit that throw much all game.
This wasn’t a reviewable play, so the moment no flag flew, BYU secured that massive win. For Notre Dame, this has to sting. Losing on what looks like a missed call, especially when you’re driving for the win, is just brutal. BYU moves to 6-0, and you gotta wonder what this win means for their season and how Notre Dame bounces back from such a gut-wrenching, controversial loss.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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