A wild Week 7 of the college football season was spoiled by some questionable officiating down the final stretch of the primetime game between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 8 BYU on Saturday night.
There was a missed defensive pass interference in the endzone at the end of the game, along with some missed clock management by the referees.
On the final play, there was clearly one second remaining in the game, which would have given the Fighting Irish one more shot at the endzone, but the game was instead whistled dead. That led to plenty of backlash on social media.
One of the outspoken voices who chimed in on the officiating was former NFL player Breiden Fehoko, who is always willing to give a hot take. This time, Fehoko made a scathing comment claiming players around the league are aware refs are openly “rigging games” and that it extends to the collegiate level.
MORE: BYU makes No. 1 pitch: Notre Dame upset could end 42-year AP poll wait
Breiden Fehoko Claims the Fix is in
Notre Dame also should’ve had 1 second left for one final play. Watch the clock here: https://t.co/UEqaEU6txd
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 18, 2026
“I won’t even be quiet about it no more,” Fehoko said. “When I played in the NFL, we all knew officials were rigging games certain ways. It happens at the college ranks. Last year, when I put the NFL on blast about it, they threatened to pull my pension. [F*ck] ’em. The world deserves to know.”
Claiming that the league threatens to pull his pension takes the claim to the next level, though Fehoko has become a known provocateur on social media, so take everything with a grain of salt.
What we do know, however, is that the Big 12 admitted referee error down the stretch, specifically with the clock. The statement admits that one second should have been remaining on the clock, giving Notre Dame a final chance at the win.
“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 statement read. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
It’s an unfortunate ending and asterisk attached to what was ultimately an exciting game, but at the end of the day, that’s the cruel nature of sports.
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