No. 1 Miami vs. No. 11 Notre Dame might have been the college football game of the year in South Bend on Saturday night. The Fighting Irish entered needing a signature win to get back in the good graces of the College Football Playoff Committee, and also seeking revenge for a season-opening loss to Miami last year that kept ND out of the playoff.

Notre Dame took control early with a 24-7 lead, but the Hurricanes would mount a comeback. Heisman Trophy candidate Darian Mensah put Miami in position to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but a controversial call kept the Hurricanes out of the end zone and ultimately sealed their fate.

Notre Dame beat Miami, 31-24, to bolster its resume ahead of the playoff. It appeared Miami had briefly tied the game with under four minutes remaining when Mensah found tight end Elija Lofton in the corner of the end zone on fourth down, but the refs ruled that he didn’t complete the catch, which gave Notre Dame the ball on a turnover on downs.

Loften caught the ball, and got both feet in-bounds, but the refs ruled that he did not perform an “act common to the game,” which essentially means he didn’t complete the catch before the Notre Dame defender knocked the ball away. Watch the play here.

Here’s another angle.

In college football, a catch requires firm control, a body part down in bounds, and control long enough to perform an act common to the game. Lofton clearly had control. Was the play already over when Notre Dame defensive back Luke Talich stripped it?

The play was reviewed the refs affirmed their initial call of no catch. Notre Dame went on to win. Miami suffered its first loss of the season.

Do you think the refs got it right? That looks like a catch to me. Lofton stepped out of bounds and then the ball was knocked loss. Shouldn’t that step count as a common act? Let us know what you think in the comments.