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College football faces another clock controversy after BYU upsets Notre Dame

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Cite

Reigle, M. (2026, October 18). College football faces another clock controversy after BYU upsets Notre Dame. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/college-football-clock-controversy-byu-upsets-notre-dame

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-18 · by Matt Reigle

Quick Summary

College football saw another controversial clock management issue during BYU's upset win over Notre Dame on Saturday. Despite Notre Dame having possession with nine seconds left in the game, quarterback CJ Carr’s attempt to spike the ball was ruled a fumble, ending their scoring opportunity. This decision, combined with earlier momentum shifts due to penalties and trick plays, led to BYU securing a 21-10 victory over the previously unbeaten Fighting Irish. Social media debate focused heavily on whether the game should have continued beyond the alleged fumble, given that Notre Dame was on the BYU five-yard line.
Written by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Based on the articles provided, here is a summary of key events and rankings related to BYU:

The articles highlight how BYU's recent performance has been marked by significant ups and downs, with a dramatic win over Notre Dame followed immediately by a controversial loss to an unranked team. This swing in fortunes has led to a substantial drop in their national ranking.

Written for “BYU Upset Notre Dame” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 14 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 BYU Upset Notre Dame
Sports · 15 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 29 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 42 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 43 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A focuses on the clock controversy in the BYU vs Notre Dame game, while Article B discusses the broader context of multiple top-ranked teams losing on the same day.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss BYU's upset victory over Notre Dame on the same day, Article A focuses on the clock controversy at the end of the game, whereas Article B centers on quarterback Bear Bachmeier's motivation and post-game comments.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 47 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A mentions a controversy over BYU's upset win against Notre Dame but does not provide details about the game itself or its score, while Article B provides detailed information about a specific game and its outcome.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
15
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6063 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Matt Reigle
65 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Matt Reigle
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 65 articles by Matt Reigle →

Topics

BYU FOX News Irish Notre Dame the Fighting Irish

Subjects

Notre Dame ORG · 10× BYU ORG · 8× Bachmeier PERSON · 4× Cougars ORG · 2× Irish NORP · 2× the Fighting Irish ORG · 2× Auburn ORG · 1× FOX ORG · 1× FOX News ORG · 1× Georgia Bulldogs ORG · 1×

Narrative

Then, as if that wasn't enough, Bachmeier scored another touchdown using his legs just before the half, and with the extra point, that gave BYU a 21-10 lead. However, there was still enough time for Notre Dame to get another possession, and with just nine seconds on the clock, the Fighting Irish found themselves on the BYU 5-yard line. Notre Dame QB CJ Carr attempted to spike the ball, but he never had total control of it, and upon review, it was ruled a fumble, with the Irish leaving points on the table and forking over possession. Notre Dame battled back in the second half, and eventually found themselves up by a field goal.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 BYU pulled off an upset over Notre Dame — but social media seems to think the game may not have actually been over.

Claims (22 extracted, 3 hedged)

It was a wild Saturday in college football, and if top team after top team taking losses wasn’t crazy enough, another game ended with a one-second clock controversy. asserted
game → take → controversy
BYU pulled off an upset over Notre Dame — but social media seems to think the game may not have actually been over. uncertain
game → pull → Dame
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
Thanks to the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs losing at home to Auburn, No. 2 Notre Dame had a chance to take over the top spot with a win. asserted
Dame → lose → win
Unfortunately, they would have to do that on the road against the Big 12's top team, the unbeaten No. 8 BYU Cougars. asserted
they → have → team
And, to make matters worse, the Fighting Irish were without one of their best defensive players almost immediately. asserted
Irish → make → players
On BYU's first series, defensive lineman Boubacar Traore was called for targeting on a hit on BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier. asserted
Traore → call → Bachmeier
That was a costly penalty for a team that doesn't take a lot of them, and the Cougars made them pay. asserted
them → take → them
They marched downfield — even forcing Notre Dame to burn a timeout — with Bachmeier finding the end zone to open the scoring. asserted
Bachmeier → march → scoring
Notre Dame hit a field goal in the first quarter and then found the end zone in the second with running back Nolan James Jr. hitting paydirt to give them a 10-7 lead. asserted
Jr. → hit → lead
However, BYU had more, particularly a trick play that saw Bachmeier trotting into the end zone with the help of a blocker. asserted
Bachmeier → have → blocker
Then, as if that wasn't enough, Bachmeier scored another touchdown using his legs just before the half, and with the extra point, that gave BYU a 21-10 lead. However, there was still enough time for Notre Dame to get another possession, and with just nine seconds on the clock, the Fighting Irish found themselves on the BYU 5-yard line. Notre Dame QB CJ Carr attempted to spike the ball, but he never had total control of it, and upon review, it was ruled a fumble, with the Irish leaving points on the table and forking over possession. Notre Dame battled back in the second half, and eventually found themselves up by a field goal. asserted
themselves → score → goal
BYU responded when Bachmeier — who had already shown he can find the end zone as a rusher and receiver — threw his first passing touchdown of the game by finding tight end Walker Lyons with just under two minutes left in regulation. asserted
minutes → respond → regulation
That gave BYU a four-point lead and meant Notre Dame couldn't settle for a field goal. asserted
Dame → give → goal
The Irish converted on a crucial fourth-and-2 to keep their drive alive, but after failing to get into the end zone, they found themselves facing fourth-and-five with ten seconds remaining. asserted
themselves → convert → seconds
They managed to convert with four seconds on the clock, setting up the final play of the game. asserted
They → manage → game
That'll frustrate Notre Dame fans, but not as much as this will. asserted
this → frustrate → fans
The field had been stormed, and both teams had headed to the locker room before that started making the rounds on social media. asserted
that → storm → media
That ended Notre Dame's 16-game winning streak and is one of several outcomes that are going to shake up the rankings and CFP picture in a big, big way. asserted
that → end → way
Notre Dame will take a week off and then get back at it against Navy, while the Cougars will keep chugging along with a visit to Orlando to take on the UCF Knights. asserted
Cougars → take → Knights
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