The Big 12 Conference acknowledged a Notre Dame BYU officiating error on Sunday, saying the replay crew wrongly ended Saturday’s game before the clock had expired. The conference said one second remained when the final play ended, meaning Notre Dame should have been allowed one more snap in its 28-24 loss at No. 8 BYU.
The admission came a day after Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr’s pass to Jade Greathouse fell incomplete in the end zone on what was ruled the game’s final play. That incompletion sealed the Fighting Irish’s defeat at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, where a sold-out crowd of 65,179 watched BYU improve to 6-0, according to USA Today.
Big 12 Statement On The Officiating Error
The conference detailed its findings in a statement issued after reviewing the sequence. “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. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
The clock showed :01 remaining when the ball hit the ground, per the Big 12’s own review, which directly contradicts the decision on the field to treat the play as the game’s final snap.
What The Ruling Means
By the Big 12’s own admission, Notre Dame was denied a legitimate opportunity to run one additional play with a chance to tie or win the game. The conference did not say what specific play would have been run or outline any mechanism to correct the outcome after the fact, and the result stands as a 28-24 BYU victory.
The acknowledgment does carry weight going forward. The Big 12 said it will conduct a full review of how its end-of-game officiating process functions before the next round of games, a step that signals the conference views the mistake as a procedural failure rather than an isolated judgment call.
A Second Missed Call On The Same Play
The clock error was not the only disputed element of the final snap. According to Yahoo Sports, officials did not throw a flag for what appeared to be defensive pass interference on the same incomplete pass to Greathouse. The Big 12’s statement addressed only the clock mistake and did not reference the no-call on the potential interference.
What’s Next
The Big 12 has not detailed specific changes that will result from its review of end-of-game officiating procedures, nor has it indicated whether any accountability measures will be applied to the officials involved. The conference said the review will take place ahead of next week’s slate of games, which will be the first test of whatever adjustments follow the admitted error in the Notre Dame-BYU finish.
Notre Dame’s next matchup and BYU’s next assignment following its move to 6-0 will be the first opportunities to see how the conference’s reworked review process holds up under similar late-game circumstances.
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