BYU Stuns Notre Dame in Clock Controversy Meltdown

Liberty Check

• Another major college football program faced accusations of officiating inconsistencies that undermined the integrity of the game.
• Notre Dame’s 16-game winning streak ended amid fan outrage over a late-game clock ruling that favored BYU.
• Traditional values of fair play and accountability in American sports continue to come under pressure from inconsistent officiating.

College football delivered another round of chaos on Saturday as ranked teams fell left and right, and the chaos was capped off by yet another clock controversy.

BYU knocked off Notre Dame on the road, but social media erupted after replays showed the game may have ended with one second still on the clock.

The Fighting Irish had a golden opportunity to claim the number one ranking after Georgia fell at home to Auburn.

Instead, Notre Dame had to travel to face the unbeaten BYU Cougars, and they did so without one of their top defensive linemen early in the game.

Defensive lineman Boubacar Traore was ejected for targeting after a hit on quarterback Bear Bachmeier, a penalty that shifted momentum immediately.

“That was a costly penalty for a team that doesn’t take a lot of them, and the Cougars made them pay.”

BYU capitalized quickly, marching down the field and scoring first with Bachmeier finding the end zone.

Notre Dame answered with a field goal and a touchdown to take a 10-7 lead, but the Cougars responded with a trick play and two more Bachmeier scores before halftime.

Trailing 21-10 at the break, Notre Dame mounted a second-half comeback and briefly took the lead with a field goal.

Bachmeier answered again, throwing his first passing touchdown of the game to tight end Walker Lyons with under two minutes remaining, giving BYU a four-point advantage.

“That gave BYU a four-point lead and meant Notre Dame couldn’t settle for a field goal.”

The Irish converted a fourth-and-2 and then a fourth-and-5 to keep their final drive alive, reaching the end zone area with four seconds left.

After the final play, the field was stormed and both teams had already left for the locker room when video surfaced online questioning whether time had expired.

“The field had been stormed, and both teams had headed to the locker room before that started making the rounds on social media.”

The loss snaps Notre Dame’s 16-game winning streak and throws the College Football Playoff picture into further disarray.

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