Irish Breakdown

Social Media Erupts Over Controversial Calls in Notre Dame Game

The officials at Notre Dame Stadium have had a rough year, but just before halftime Saturday was perhaps the worst its been
Nick Shepkowski|
Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman talks to an official during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium.
Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman talks to an official during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

In this story:

Notre Dame Fighting IrishNorth Carolina State Wolfpack

Notre Dame started the season off rocky, and a brutal no-call on Texas A&M at the end of the second game played a role in the Fighting Irish starting off 0-2. It's tough to imagine a worse call than that, but just before halftime against North Carolina State on Saturday, two calls certainly made the case.

First, facing a third down and four, Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey threw a pass to wide receiver Terrell Anderson that replayed showed hitting the ground and seemingly being incomplete. Upon review however, the call was upheld despite seeming to be obviously incomplete.

The call was upheld however, and NC State picked up a fresh set of downs. However, just two plays later it appeared that Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray had an ultimate "Ball don't lie" moment by picking off an NC State pass, but those handling the review had something else in mind.

I'll post video once I find it, but one of several examples of what was said on social media following the should-be interception instead being called incomplete:

After review called both of those plays in NC State's favor, social media unloaded on the officials, as Notre Dame media members and fans seemingly had enough. Below are some of the best posts to X during that stretch.

Absolutely Disgusting Call

It seemed obvious that the ball hit the ground and wasn't under control but the review kept going on and on. One would think the longer those in charge looked at the play, the more obvious it became that it should have been called incomplete, but that obviously wound up not being the case.

What is the Point of Having Replay?

ACC games on ESPN allow the telecast inside the review room and you get a clear understanding of why something was called a certain way. I would have loved to been able to hear what the conversation was that led to this being called a catch.

How is That Upheld?

There is obvious and then there is beyond obvious and that falls into the second category. A downright awful call.

Going After One of Their Own

Just like former coaches don't like to call out other coaches, former officials don't like to call out those currently doing the job. When a former NFL official who called multiple Super Bowls call you out, you know something is clearly amiss.

One of the Worst Calls You'll Ever See

Hey, no argument from me.

The Worst Day Since...Yesterday

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

I don't look at it as a conspiracy against Notre Dame as much as I do that it's an epidemic across all sports. Officiating has gotten significantly worse in seemingly all of them. Perhaps that's because of the amount of replays we're able to see from our homes with better cameras and angles than ever before, but isn't that the entire idea of having replay?

Notre Dame did plenty of things to shoot itself in the foot at times Saturday, but throwing a couple of truly awful calls in there (that were reviewed, mind you), only made the sledding tougher.

Published | Modified
Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

Home/Football