Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said he was "beyond upset" with the explanation for the ruling that negated tight end Elija Lofton's potential game-tying touchdown reception in the fourth quarter of the No. 1 Hurricanes' 31-24 loss at No. 11 Notre Dame on Saturday night.
On fourth-and-6 from the Notre Dame 18 with 3:36 remaining, Lofton appeared to make a catch near the boundary of the end zone, but the play was ruled incomplete after Fighting Irish safety Luke Talich dislodged the ball as Lofton stepped out of bounds. The original call stood following a brief replay review.
"Really, really disappointed that they negated Elija Lofton's touchdown with two hands on the ball and two feet in bounds," Cristobal said in his postgame news conference. "I'm pissed off. It's bullshit, and I'll leave it at that. That's the way it was seen by them. So I got to live with it and respect it, and our players got to live with it, and we got to do better. Again, don't leave it in the hands of the officials."
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay supported the ruling, stating the pass was incomplete. Quarterback Darian Mensah, who finished 24-of-43 for 276 yards and three touchdowns, said he thought it was a touchdown and echoed the sentiment that the team cannot leave the outcome to one play.
Cristobal later apologized for his criticism of the officials, saying he needs to be mature and professional, and that the focus must be on self-improvement.
Notre Dame, led by a Heisman-caliber performance from quarterback CJ Carr, secured a signature win that moves the Fighting Irish closer to the College Football Playoff. Coach Marcus Freeman called it a special moment, avenging last season's 27-24 loss to Miami that kept Notre Dame out of the playoff.
Miami played without injured receiver Malachi Toney for the first time this season, and the offense did not catch fire until the third quarter when the Hurricanes trailed 24-3.
