MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Notre Dame might have deserved one more play at the end of its game at BYU. Florida State was furious over how referees saw its two Hail Mary completions for would-have-been touchdowns in double overtime against Miami.
And once again, end-of-game officiating was under fire.
Dramatic — and sometimes controversial — endings were the story of a wild college football Saturday, with late-game calls deciding some outcomes and potentially even having an effect on how the College Football Playoff shapes up a couple months from now.
Notre Dame's 28-24 loss at BYU ended one second earlier than it should have, the Big 12 Conference said — and some suggested the Irish were the victims of an uncalled pass interference on what became their final play of the evening, after looking at how BYU's Evan Johnson defended Notre Dame's Jaden Greathouse.
“I think it warranted a flag,” ESPN and ABC rules analyst Matt Austin said over a replay of the final play on the broadcast, as BYU's celebration was just beginning to get underway. "That’s a lot of contact where you’re not playing the ball. You're just playing the receiver."
For their part, the Irish — who lobbied for the flag — shrugged the no-call off afterward, at least publicly.
“It is what it is,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said after his team’s 16-game winning streak was snapped. “I know people are going to look for me to put blame on somebody else. That’s not what we do around here. We own it. We’ve got to be better and we’ve got to execute no matter what the situation is.”
Pass interference — marking the second straight week that a late non-call played a major role in an outcome of a marquee game, after one that certainly seemed like it should have been called against Georgia wasn't and helped the Bulldogs beat Alabama on Oct. 10 — could have been debated.
The game clock miscue seemed absolute, after replays proved one second remained when Notre Dame's final pass fell incomplete. It is at least the second time that a last-second game clock miscue became a national talking point, after Michigan won 13-12 on a Hail Mary pass in Week 1 over Western Michigan after the replay official put one second back on the clock in a game that it seemed the Wolverines should have lost.
“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 in a statement early Sunday. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
There were other calls that loomed huge, such as officials correctly ruling that Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh was out of bounds on a potentially game-winning play in the Hoosiers' loss to Ohio State, and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Georgia in the final moments of what became the winning drive for Auburn.
“It takes great restraint not to do it,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “And we didn’t have great restraint.”
Florida State went back-and-forth with Miami all night and needed a miracle at the end to try and send the game to a third overtime.
The Seminoles think they got that miracle. Two, actually. Neither counted and the Hurricanes won, 43-35.
On fourth-and-21 in the second overtime, Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels heaved the ball into the end zone and it was caught by Micahi Danzy for a touchdown — one that was called back after a holding call that Florida State felt didn't exist.
“Go watch the film,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said.
A play later, now facing fourth-and-31, Daniels sent an even deeper throw into the right corner of the end zone. A maze of bodies leaped for the catch and it appeared that Florida State's Duce Robinson and Miami's Bryce Fitzgerald both had their hands on the ball. Florida State players signaled touchdown. Miami players signaled interception. Fitzgerald emerged with the ball, the Atlantic Coast Conference replay officials agreed, and the Hurricanes won to stay unbeaten.
In fairness, Florida State still would have needed a 2-point conversion to extend the game even if either of the Hail Mary touchdowns had counted. The loss sent Florida State to 3-4, put the embattled Norvell under even more fire, and kept Miami's hopes of a perfect season alive.
“We don't understand it," Daniels said. “Obviously, it hurts.”
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