Notre Dame football coached like it has a margin of error: Now, the Irish get one last shot

The Big 12 Conference just added insult to the injury.

There should have been one second added to the clock. Instead, Notre Dame football dropped its first game of the season 28-24 at the hands of BYU.

"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 Big 12 said in a statement early Sunday morning. "The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week's games."

The Big 12 gets to admit fault yet claim a top-10 win. In other words: "Sorry, not sorry."

That’s the price the Irish paid.

Notre Dame talked big in the offseason. It wasn’t boastful or proud. That’s not how Marcus Freeman operates, and it’s an admirable trait.

He kept repeating the team’s mantra: "Leave No Doubt."

Don’t give the College Football Playoff committee a reason to leave you out like it did last year. On Saturday, the Irish gave them a dreaded talking point in its loss to No. 8 BYU.

The most frustrating part wasn’t how the Irish should have gotten one more play, nor how the referees let the grasping between Irish receiver Jaden Greathouse and Cougars cornerback Evan Johnson go without foul.

It was how Notre Dame played like a team with plenty of chances. Now, they have just one more opportunity to prove they’re a playoff team.

Big picture view:

Notre Dame’s loss was more than a blown call or two.

Notre Dame’s loss came down to the one thing Freeman loathes the most, which are plays Notre Dame commits that hurt the Irish.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier played the best game of his young career. It was reminiscent of how Riley Leonard played for the Irish in 2024. On the other hand, Notre Dame’s quarterback couldn’t finish.

There were three moments that defined the game for CJ Carr: The Irish QB1 had a critical turned in the red zone on a fumbled spike and settled for field goals after starting two separate drives in BYU territory.

The fumbled spike was the most egregious. Spike it there and get points, and then Notre Dame is either kicking a field goal to win or its firmly ahead in the final minutes.

"It’s a crucial, crucial play," Freeman said. "I’ve never seen it happen with us. Obviously, maybe it just happened at other places, but we can't allow that to happen."

The most critical drive was when Notre Dame intercepted Bachmeier. Jayden Sanders came in for DJ McKinney got a turnover with Notre Dame leading 24-21. 

After that, with a chance to clinch the game, the offense went as follows:

• Nolan James Jr. rush for -4 yards.
• Carr QB draw for 0 yards.
• Carr pass to James for seven yards.
• Punt.

A chance for the Irish to prove they’re the team they say they are, and they fell too short.

"I thought we moved the ball well and just didn’t end up punching in some of those red zone opportunities we had," Carr said.

Perhaps more egregious than the fumbled spike was defensive end Bobucar Traore’s targeting penalty in the first minutes of the game.

Some targeting calls are debatable. This one was not, leading with his helmet right into Bachmeier’s chin. The Irish were down its second most important defender and one that might’ve made a difference in the game late.

These are moments that hurt Notre Dame. The program can’t blame the Big 12 Conference for that.

Dig deeper:

Notre Dame has one more shot to prove it is a CFP team. 

It all comes down to Nov. 7 against Miami. The Irish need to win that game and the rest of their slate to make the playoff. Lose and they most likely get left out like last season.

It's one last chance for Notre Dame to prove it has the mettle to win a top-10 game. Especially after felt like the Irish coaching staff called the game like they have a few more chances to prove they can beat a top team.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock gave Jonaz Walton just five carries after he went over 100 yards in wins over North Carolina on the road and Stanford last weekend.

Carr kept trying to go vertical on a night where he didn’t have his fast ball. BYU was allowing chances to move the ball with Jordan Faison, Carr’s favorite receiver, with a softer zone. Denbrock kept trying to push the ball against a good BYU defense. Jaden Greathouse had a good game, but targeting him on a roll out-fade throw that cuts the field in half was a confounding call.

Defensive coordinator Chris Ash found an answer for Bachmeier in the second half after allowing 21 first-half points, but called a blitz that left tight end Walker Lyons wide open against true freshman Joey O’Brien for the game-winning score.

This loss hurts more than the Miami loss and Texas A&M loss last year because Notre Dame felt like it had found what worked in the first six weeks of the regular season and located players like Walton who earned the right for more touches.

Last year, the team was still feeling out Ash’s defense and tried to get Carr to settle in during his first few starts.

Now, Notre Dame is back where it was last year. The only difference is they know the score and have been here before. Complaining about the ending does little to change the fact Notre Dame was in a position to get a raw deal from officials who work for the conference of the team the Irish are playing against. The easy solution is to not be in that position.

Granted, they could be in a worse position. Take Texas, for example, which lost to Oklahoma and Florida in consecutive weeks. Georgia lost to unranked Auburn. No. 6 Alabama was manhandled by No. 14 Tennessee. Losing to No. 8 on the road means the Irish will drop just a few, but a weak schedule means they have just one more shot.

It's simple.

Beat Miami, and you’ll have an inside track into the CFP. It’s the Irish’s last shot for a team they believe was capable of winning it all.