BYU upsets Notre Dame after questionable non-calls on final play originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Saturday's college football action featured several incredible games, as every team in the top eight was in a close battle. To close out the day, BYU beat Notre Dame in Provo thanks to a friendly no-call from the referees.
The Fighting Irish used a big second half to score 14 straight points, but a late BYU touchdown put the Cougars up four points with under two minutes left. Still, Notre Dame had a chance to win the game on the final play, but CJ Carr threw a controversial incomplete pass.
The discussion after the game is whether Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse was interfered with as he went for Carr's final pass. The officials chose not to throw a flag, but a closer look shows that maybe there should've been a penalty.
Besides that, Notre Dame may have been robbed of the chance to attempt one more play, as there might have been a second left on the clock when the referees declared the game over. Here's a deeper look at the final play.
MORE: CJ Carr's fumble costs Notre Dame points at halftime
BYU-Notre Dame final play
Down four points in the waning seconds of regulation, Notre Dame had one final play to try and win the game from the Cougars goalline. CJ Carr just drove the offense down the field in less than two minutes, putting the Fighting Irish on the doorstep of a win.
Carr's final pass was a fade to Jaden Greenhouse, who collected eight catches for 125 yards on the night. However, the pass fell incomplete as it sailed over Greenhouse's head.
Upon further review, there appeared to be contact between Greathouse and BYU defender Omar Thornton, but the referees didn't call pass interference.
BYU TAKES DOWN NOTRE DAME! CJ Carr's final pass is incomplete and the cougars move to 6-0 with a massive win over the Irish. https://t.co/4M2gLHwpdI
— Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) October 18, 2026
When BYU was celebrating, ESPN rules analyst Matt Austin came onto the broadcast to say that he thinks there should've been pass interference on the play.
"I think it warranted a flag," he said. "That'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."
More pass interference controversy #BYU #GoIrish https://t.co/JlO2g1a8O1
— Carter Lowe (@carterjlowe) October 18, 2026
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay agreed with Austin that there should've been a penalty on the play.
The Florida St offensive holding call was not a foul. The contact by the BYU defender was defensive pass interference.
— Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) October 18, 2026
That play is not reviewable, so BYU secured the win the moment there wasn't a flag on the play. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman didn't comment on the no-call.
Marcus Freeman didn't want to comment on a potential pass interference on the final play. "It was chaos, man." Said the fade to Jaden Greathouse, was a reaction to BYU's pressure from that side. Irish had not hit that throw almost the entire game.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) October 18, 2026
Additionally, replay officials seemingly missed the fact that there was one second left on the game clock when Carr's pass hit the ground.
Hmmm… https://t.co/cKs2tXTvmE
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) October 18, 2026
The Fighting Irish suffered their first loss of the season as a result, while the Cougars remain undefeated on the year.
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