BYU defender reveals role in CJ Carr's botched fumble vs Notre Dame

In the closing seconds of the first half of Saturday's top-10 matchup against BYU, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr capped off a disastrous half for the Fighting Irish's offense by fumbling a spike attempt inside the 5-yard-line.

The mistake may not have been entirely his fault.

Speaking after the game, BYU defensive lineman Justin Kirkland admitted he yelled "hut" on the play, setting in motion an early snap that led to Carr's fumble.

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"I immediately get down in my stance. It's so loud, no one can hear and I just yell, 'Hut,'" Kirkland said on CougConnect following BYU's 28-24 win. "... Center snaps it and immediately points at me."

Kirkland continued describing the moment in which Notre Dame center Ashton Craig attempted to get ahold of a referee to tell him Kirkland's foul.

"He's trying to point at the ref (and say) like, 'He yelled hut' and I'm yelling at the ref, 'I would never do that. He is lying.' Dude it was funny though," Kirkland said.

Since Carr tried to spike the ball into the ground without full control, it resulted in a live ball. BYU's Jayven Williams went after the ball and recovered it for the Cougars to seal their 11-point halftime lead over the Fighting Irish. Here's a look at the botched spike attempt from Carr:

CJ CARR FUMBLES ON A SPIKE 😮

BYU recovered 👀 pic.twitter.com/vMOczouW8s

— ESPN (@espn) October 18, 2026

Carr and Notre Dame had a chance at the end to stave off an upset on the road to BYU, but the Cougars' defense came up with a defensive stop. The final play of the game, however, featured two potential officiating errors, including an acknowledgment by the Big 12 that there was a second remaining on the game clock.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman did not point fingers at officials for the Fighting Irish's defeat in his postgame news conference.

"We own it. And we've got to be better, and we've got to execute no matter what the situation is," Freeman said.