Social Media Explodes After Instant Classic, Controversial Ending Between BYU and Notre Dame

PROVO, UT - What a night inside LaVell Edwards Stadium. No. 8 BYU beat no. 2 Notre Dame for one of the biggest wins, if not the biggest win, in program history. The instant classic ended in controversy when Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr rolled to his right and threw a pass intended for Jaden Greathouse that fell incomplete. BYU cornerback Evan Johnson made contact and potentially could have been flagged for pass interference.

In addition, it appeared there was one second on the clock when the pass hit the turf. The play was not reviewed and the game ended. After the game, social media reacted to the ups, the downs, and the controversy.

A Controversial Ending

Terry McAulay, a former NFL referee turned rules anaylst, stated there was 0:01 left on the clock when the ball hit the ground and the Fighting Irish should have been awarded one more play.

As some have noted, there was indeed :01 on the bug clock when the pass hit the ground (BYU/ND). Replay should have reviewed to determine if the in-stadium clock was at :01 at that point and if so, ND would have had one more play.

- Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) October 18, 2026

Using a variety of views from the stadium and the broadcast, you can see one second left on the clock as the ball bounces on the turf. Notre Dame would have had one more play from the eight yard-line if the referees would have added one more second back.

Also noticed this... https://t.co/3g0wgVZbyS

- Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 18, 2026

ESPN/ABC rules analyst Matt Austin chimed in near the end of the broadcast and said he believed their was enough contact to warrant a defensive pass interference penalty. If a pass interference would have been called, Notre Dame would have had one final play from the BYU two yard-line.

"I think it warranted a flag. That's a lot of contact where you're not playing the ball... I would've supported a DPI."
ESPN/ABC rules analyst Matt Austin on the Notre Dame-BYU finish.
(There's also the question of the field clock, which showed 1 second remaining) pic.twitter.com/JzKewlL57a

- Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 18, 2026

Regardless of the call, Notre Dame would have needed to punch the ball in the end zone against a stingy BYU defense. There were also plenty of calls that went against BYU earlier in the game. Many will point to the controversial ending, but the final play shouldn't take away from what BYU accomplished on Saturday night.

BYU 'Manhandles' Notre Dame

Despite the controversial ending, BYU was the better team on Saturday night. As Ari Wasserman said, BYU was "manhandling" Notre Dame in this game. If not for special teams mistakes, the Cougars would have been in firm control of this game.

BYU is physically manhandling Notre Dame on national television.

- Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) October 18, 2026

Despite turning the ball over three times in the second half, BYU held on to beat a Fighting Irish team that had won 16 straight games by 10 or more points. The Cougars played so well on offense that it had some questioning how good the Notre Dame defense actually is (you could argue that we were sold a lot of lies about this BYU offense, but I digress).

We were sold a lot of lies about this Notre Dame defense.

- Brandon Walker (@BFW) October 18, 2026

Bear Bachmeier Steals the Show

CJ Carr was a Heisman favorite coming into this game, but it was BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier that stole the show. Outside of a throw that was intercepted in the fourth quarter, Bachmeier was dialed in throughout the night. BYU put the offense on Bachmeier's shoulders and he delivered with 269 total yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

BYU QB Bear Bachmeier vs Notre Dame:
23/36
269 Total Yards
3 Touchdowns
1 Interception@BYUfootballpic.twitter.com/CQ2QmvnjZq

- PFF College (@PFF_College) October 18, 2026

After throwing his first interception of the game in the fourth quarter, Bachmeier bounced back by leading a 10 play, 55-yard touchdown go-ahead drive. Bachmeier was dealing on that drive and the Cougars took the lead with 1:47 remaining when Bachmeier found Walker Lyons for a touchdown.

OHHHHHHHH YEAH @walkerly0ns!!!!!!
ABC pic.twitter.com/kUgebv4k3L

- BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) October 18, 2026

Chris Hummer pointed out that Bear Bachmeier is the first player of the last 30 yards with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown, and a receiving touchdown vs an AP top five team in the same game.

Bear Bachmeier is the 1st FBS player in past 30 years with rush TD, pass TD & receiving TD vs AP Top-5 team in the same game, per CBS Sports research. pic.twitter.com/ADv9yNQDMI

- Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) October 18, 2026

After the game, Robert Griffin III called the final drive a "Heisman moment" for the true sophomore. A performance like the one Bachmeier had on Saturday could thrust him into the Heisman conversation.

Bear Bachmeier just had another Heisman moment in another BATTLE OF THE CHRISTIANS leading BYU to a hard fought victory over Notre Dame.
You LOVE to see it.

- Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 18, 2026

Bear was doing everything for the BYU offense against Notre Dame. He had a receiving touchdown on a trick play from Kyler Kasper.

"Bear on the loose!"
BYU gets tricky for the TD pic.twitter.com/DIYd3BLZPk

- ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 18, 2026

LJ Martin posted at the beginning of the game that Bear Bachmeier was "built for this." Turns out, Martin was right.

47 is made for this.

- LJ Martin (@aLJayMartin) October 17, 2026

Does BYU Deserve to Be Ranked No. 1?

Saturday was a historic day in college football. It was the first time that five of the top seven teams in the AP Poll lost on the same Saturday.

• No. 1 Georgia lost to unranked Auburn
• No. 2 Notre Dame lost to no. 8 BYU
• No. 5 Indiana lost to no. 4 Ohio State
• No. 6 Alabama lost to no. 14 Tennessee
• No. 7 Texas lost to unranked Florida

At minimum, BYU will be ranked inside the top three when the AP poll comes out on Sunday. And the Cougars have a case to be at the top of the rankings. No. 3 Miami needed double overtime to beat a mediocre Florida State team, and Ohio State lost to the same Texas team that has suffered back-to-back losses over the last two weeks.

After the win, Danny Kanell called BYU "legit title contenders."

BYU!!!! They are legit title contenders. Wow.

- Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) October 18, 2026

RANK BYU No. 1
RANK BYU No. 1
RANK BYU No. 1
RANK BYU No. 1
RANK BYU No. 1
RANK BYU No. 1

- Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 18, 2026

Max Chadwick also believes the Cougars should be at the top of the AP poll when it comes out on Sunday.

Rank BYU #1 you cowards.

- Max Chadwick (@CFBMaxChadwick) October 18, 2026

BYU Represents for the Big 12

The Big 12 has a perception problem, and national analysts around the country circled the BYU-Notre Dame game as a "prove-it" game for the league. Fair or not, that was the perception going into this game. And BYU delivered in major way.

What. A. Night!
Go crazy, BYU fans (as much as is allowed).
Huge, huge respect win for the Big 12.

- Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 18, 2026

There is a very real chance that BYU's win over the Fighting Irish opened the door for the Big 12 to get multiple teams into the playoff for the first time ever.

Do people appreciate how important this BYU game is for the Big 12, especially with Texas Tech, Utah, and others needing a boost to the conference's reputation?
BYU isn't just playing for BYU. It's playing for the Big 12.

- Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) October 18, 2026

There are only six teams in the nation that are still undefeated and three of the six are from the Big 12.

No. 8 BYU will beat No. 2 Notre Dame in Provo - a massive win for the Big 12 and the *fifth* top-7 ranked team to lose today - an AP poll record.
Six FBS teams remain undefeated
Miami
BYU
Texas Tech
UCLA
James Madison
Utah (still playing)

- Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 18, 2026

BYU Fans Storm the Field

After a dramatic ending, BYU fans rushed the field to celebrate the win over the Fighting Irish.

BYU fans rush the field after beating Notre Dame
(via @BryanDFischer) pic.twitter.com/fzFmjSxaYq

- Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 18, 2026

BYU fans filled the field in minutes. One analyst called in the most "packed" field storming he had seen.

Not sure I've ever seen a field storming this packed. Student section is still pouring in. pic.twitter.com/1Qf9lJFy41

- CFBudge (@CF_Budge) October 18, 2026

ABSOLUTE SCENES IN PROVO pic.twitter.com/xHtwHghhma

- PFF College (@PFF_College) October 18, 2026

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/byu as Social Media Explodes After Instant Classic, Controversial Ending Between BYU and Notre Dame.