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No. 8 Notre Dame lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday night to No. 16 Texas A&M to fall to 0-2 on the season.
The two teams went back a forth all night in a high scoring affair. The Aggies scored 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 28-24 lead into halftime. Notre Dame and Texas A&M traded scoring drives in the second half until the Fighting Irish scored a touchdown with 2:55 left in the game to take the lead.
However, the Aggies drove down and scored a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the game on a 4th and goal from the 11 yard line. But, after watching the play more closely, should it have counted?
Former NFL Referee Breaks Down Final Play
You never want to point at the official's at the end of a game for the cause of the outcome, and for Notre Dame of Saturday night, that certainly wasn't the case. The Fighting Irish had plenty of opportunities to win the game without leaving it in the hands of the referees.
However, former NFL referee Terry McAulay believes Texas A&M's game-winning touchdown should have been called back. That is literally a game-changing call.
This was just a patently egregious missed offensive holding foul.
Game, time, score are all irrelevant. It should be called anytime and every time it occurs. https://t.co/jWxoyh2fQ0
Notre Dame's defensive lineman Donovan Hinish swiped past Texas A&M's center, who then wrapped up Hinish's leg and brought him to the ground as he approached Aggie's quarterback Marcel Reed.
"This was just a patently egregious missed offensive holding foul," McAulay wrote on X. "Game, time, score are all irrelevant. It should be called anytime and every time it occurs."
Then McAulay went on to explain how such an egregious call was missed by all of the officials. To put it simple, two officials were looking at the wrong place in the play and one official simply missed the blatant holding call because he was looking at a different part of the offensive line.
Many are asking how this was missed.
Here’s why (and it’s not because of any grand conspiracy):
The still photo below shows the Umpire in the middle, who is the primary official, looking to his left. I can’t say why, but there is no reason for him to look that way.
However, this isn't to say the referee's are the sole reason to blame for Notre Dame's loss. The Fighting Irish butchered the extra-point following their go-ahead touchdown, which allowed the Aggies' touchdown to be a game-winner rather than just tying the game.
Texas A&M's game-winning touchdown was also on a 4th and goal from the 11 yard line. The field shrinks inside the red zone, and the Fighting Irish had one play to end the game and walk away with a win, and couldn't do so.
With the loss, Notre Dame drops to 0-2 on the season, making their College Football Playoff hopes very, very slim. The Fighting Irish would need to win-out and have a lot of help from other teams losing.
Notre Dame would need to earn an at-large bid into the CFP, and it currently does not have another Top 25 matchup on its schedule.
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