No. 5 Notre Dame faced fourth-and-2 against No. 2 Florida State, trailing 31-27 with less than 30 seconds to go in the game. The Fighting Irish picked up a fourth-and-18 earlier in the drive, and now had one play and two yards separating themselves from a win over the defending national champions.
It looked like they'd scored. Everett Golson completed a pass to a wide-open Corey Robinson, who waltzed into the end zone untouched. But a flag on the field brought the score back.
It looks like the right call. Notre Dame wide receivers C.J. Prosise and William Fuller are there to create space for Robinson as he comes across the formation, and Prosise doesn't even really hide the fact that he's essentially blocking for Robinson.
If Prosise acts as if he's running a route so that he could receive a pass, he might've gotten away with this. But, he's clearly blocking Florida State's defensive backs from going where they're trying to go, and that's not allowed.
What Happened Saturday in CFB
It's hard for a referee to call a penalty on a go-ahead score in a game with national title implications, but the refs were right not to let the situation prevent them from making the right call, whether it's a common penalty or not.
Another angle: