Notre Dame Holds off Miami Because This Is Somehow Not a Catch

I'm sorry, what? How many steps does Elija Lofton have to take in bounds and then out of bounds before the play is over?

This isn't a situation where the receiver got a foot down in bounds as he was going to the ground and didn't complete the catch. Lofton caught the ball, got both feet down in the end zone, continued out of bounds with the ball still firmly in both hands and then had it knocked out by the Notre Dame defender. How many steps does he have to take before the play is over?

Admittedly, it was a little more bang-bang than it looks in slow motion, but he clearly caught the ball. If you can get both feet down in bounds and then take a step out of bounds with the play still alive, when does it actually end? Could the defensive back have driven him into the wall at the back of the end zone and forced the ball out that way?

This play may very well have been the difference between 11-1 Notre Dame being the 3-seed in the College Football Playoff and the 10-2 Fighting Irish declining another invitation to the Pop-Tarts Bowl.