Oops. That’s basically what the Big 12 said after Saturday night’s game between Notre Dame and BYU, which resulted in a 28-24 upset for the No. 2 Irish, who surely would have moved up to No. 1 with a win, thanks to the loss of No. 1 Georgia earlier in the day. The game ended after a pass by the Irish at first and the goal fell incomplete in the end zone. There was one second left on the clock. Nobody noticed it. Neither the referees, nor the transmission. “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 punted by the replay team,” the Big 12 said in a statement. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process prior to next week’s games.” It’s a great job. Errors without consequences. Just say “I’m sorry” and move on. Last Sunday, referee Ron Torbert emphasized that there was one second left in the Eagles-Jaguars game in London after Jacksonville kick returner Ameer Abdullah was tackled in game-winning field goal range with one second left in overtime. (Which is good, not only because Torbert was right but also because NFL rules prohibit a replay review regarding time remaining when less than two seconds remain on the clock.) Last night, the referee missed it. The rest of the crew missed it. The replay process, which exists specifically for the purpose of catching things that referees on the field miss, failed to do so. Everyone missed it. Except those who, you know, were watching the game on television. Here is the question. Did the replay officials miss it or just say “screw it” because the crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium had stormed the field? It would have been difficult (but not impossible) to clear the area and resume play. The Big 12 statement neglects to explain how it happened. That is the explanation of Occam’s razor. If true, that makes the result even worse. And, if that’s what happened, the “complete review of their end-of-game officiating process” should include permanently relieving whoever made that decision of their duties.
