Big 12 says a second should have been added back to clock after No. 2 Notre Dame's final play in upset loss to No. 8 BYU

The 2026 college football season is the year of the final second.

The Big 12 admitted early Sunday morning that one second should have remained after Notre Dame’s final play in the No. 2 Fighting Irish’s 28-24 loss at No. 8 BYU. CJ Carr threw a pass into the end zone intended for Jaden Greathouse on that last play. And it sure looked like BYU cornerback Evan Johnson could easily have been flagged for pass interference.

There was no flag thrown, either.

“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 conference’s statement said. “The conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”

If you look closely, you can see that one second remained when the ball hit the ground. Of course, that added second doesn’t guarantee that Notre Dame would have won the game on what should have been the final play, but the Irish would have at least gotten another chance to get the ball into the end zone.

It’s at least the third significant final-second controversy of the first seven weeks of the season. In Week 1, the Big Ten didn’t follow protocols when it added a second back to the clock ahead of Michigan’s game-winning Hail Mary in the Wolverines’ 13-12 win over Western Michigan. In Week 5, defending FCS champion Montana State’s 19-game win streak ended at the hands of Idaho after a second was added back to the clock. In that instance, the Big Sky said the circumstances were properly officiated.