It was a wild Saturday in college football, and if top team after top team taking losses wasn’t crazy enough, another game ended with a one-second clock controversy.
BYU pulled off an upset over Notre Dame — but social media seems to think the game may not have actually been over.
Thanks to the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs losing at home to Auburn, No. 2 Notre Dame had a chance to take over the top spot with a win.
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Unfortunately, they would have to do that on the road against the Big 12’s top team, the unbeaten No. 8 BYU Cougars.
And, to make matters worse, the Fighting Irish were without one of their best defensive players almost immediately.
On BYU’s first series, defensive lineman Boubacar Traore was called for targeting on a hit on BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier.
That was a costly penalty for a team that doesn’t take a lot of them, and the Cougars made them pay.
They marched downfield — even forcing Notre Dame to burn a timeout — with Bachmeier finding the end zone to open the scoring.
Notre Dame hit a field goal in the first quarter and then found the end zone in the second with running back Nolan James Jr. hitting paydirt to give them a 10-7 lead.
However, BYU had more, particularly a trick play that saw Bachmeier trotting into the end zone with the help of a blocker.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Bachmeier scored another touchdown using his legs just before the half, and with the extra point, that gave BYU a 21-10 lead.
However, there was still enough time for Notre Dame to get another possession, and with just nine seconds on the clock, the Fighting Irish found themselves on the BYU 5-yard line.
Notre Dame QB CJ Carr attempted to spike the ball, but he never had total control of it, and upon review, it was ruled a fumble, with the Irish leaving points on the table and forking over possession.
Notre Dame battled back in the second half, and eventually found themselves up by a field goal.
BYU responded when Bachmeier — who had already shown he can find the end zone as a rusher and receiver — threw his first passing touchdown of the game by finding tight end Walker Lyons with just under two minutes left in regulation.
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That gave BYU a four-point lead and meant Notre Dame couldn’t settle for a field goal.
The Irish converted on a crucial fourth-and-2 to keep their drive alive, but after failing to get into the end zone, they found themselves facing fourth-and-five with ten seconds remaining. They managed to convert with four seconds on the clock, setting up the final play of the game.
There was some contact on that one, but no flags. That’ll frustrate Notre Dame fans, but not as much as this will.
Uh… not that again.
The field had been stormed, and both teams had headed to the locker room before that started making the rounds on social media.
Nonetheless, what a game.
That ended Notre Dame’s 16-game winning streak and is one of several outcomes that are going to shake up the rankings and CFP picture in a big, big way.
Notre Dame will take a week off and then get back at it against Navy, while the Cougars will keep chugging along with a visit to Orlando to take on the UCF Knights.
