Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly remains upset with the offensive pass interference call that negated what would have been the game-winning touchdown Saturday night for the Irish against Florida State.
ACC supervisor of officials Doug Rhoads told cbssports.com, "I've reviewed the video of the play and the call for blocking downfield was correct." And Fox Sports' Mike Pereira, a former vice president of officiating for the NFL, also said he thought it was the right call.
"It was pretty clear what happened on the play," Kelly said Sunday during his weekly news conference. "Florida State blew the coverage and got rewarded for it. It's unfortunate."
Kelly also said he was told the call was made against Will Fuller, though the official play-by-play said the flagged player was C.J. Prosise.
"He did not go out of his way to impede the defender," Kelly said of Fuller. "The official that was furthest from the play that has the ability to see it saw it differently."
Kelly also said the game should not have come down to the one play.
"When you get a team like this and outplay them, you've got to put them away," he said. "You never want to let the game be decided by a referee. You want to control the game yourself. ... If you've got the champ, you can't win by split decision; you've got to knock him out. I think that's what we want to take away from this."
The Irish outgained the Seminoles, 470-323, overall, and led 17-10 at halftime. But FSU quarterback Jameis Winston led three second-half scoring drives that covered at least 70 yards as the Seminoles rallied to remain unbeaten and on track for a playoff berth. The Irish suffered their first loss and remain in the running for a playoff spot, though they now likely are going to need a few losses by some other teams.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
