No. 8 Notre Dame is still smarting from its loss to No. 3 BYU on Saturday, and while the Fighting Irish can blame themselves -- and credit BYU -- plenty for the loss, there are more possible examples of clock mismanagement.
Again, there's a huge caveat here -- if Notre Dame makes a few plays earlier, perhaps they win without having the game come down to the final minute. And credit to BYU, too -- that's a good football team with legitimate playoff chances that played well, particularly in the first half. Notre Dame may have been favored before the game, but BYU isn't some random school that was a three-touchdown underdog -- the Cougars were No. 8 going in to the game.
That said, poor clock management in a tight game could've cost the Irish an extra
play or two, especially as they were driving for a potential go-ahead score. It looks like the clock was too slow to be stopped on two occasions where a Notre Dame wide receiver made a catch and then stepped out of bounds.
It seems like only three seconds could've been added, but that's enough time to run one play. Though we have to note, following the Michigan/Western Michigan debacle from Week 1, we've learned that the stadium clock and broadcast clock might not be in sync.
Take a look below. What do you think?
On Notre Dame’s final drive, there were multiple occasions where the clock ran longer than it was supposed to:
— C (@Smittee) October 18, 2026
• Out of bounds at 0:27, clock goes to 0:26
• Out of bounds at 0:17, clock goes to 0:15
BYU’s clock operator needs to be investigated. pic.twitter.com/Z1rzUgzS4n
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: There may have been more clock mistakes made in Notre Dame at BYU
