Kyle Hamilton: Ref used All-America honors against him to defend no-call
The clamoring for a flag came from everywhere.
From the Notre Dame Stadium stands. From the Notre Dame sideline. From the NBC broadcast booth. From Irish safety Kyle Hamilton, who raised an arm to draw attention to Cincinnati wide receiver Tre Tucker’s two fistfuls of his jersey as he pursued quarterback Desmond Ridder on a run play.
No yellow laundry and 10-yard backup followed for holding, though.
Instead, Ridder gained 11 yards on a read-option run on first-and-10 from Notre Dame’s 17-yard line early in the second quarter – the first play after Notre Dame running back Chris Tyree fumbled a kick return that gave Cincinnati the ball in the red zone. Hamilton tried to disengage from Tucker’s block and chase down Ridder on the edge. Tucker’s grasp of him hindered his efforts. Ridder ran past Hamilton before cornerback Cam Hart escorted him out of bounds.
“That’s the key block there,” NBC color analyst Drew Brees said on the broadcast as Tucker and Hamilton’s battle was replayed. “Looks like they may have gotten away with a hold — certainly did.”
Play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico agreed: “Blatant hold. Clear miss by the official.”
Missed calls happen will happen. They often even out over the course of a game. Cincinnati eventually kicked a field goal to take a 10-0 lead on that drive and had a touchdown called back because of an ineligible man downfield penalty.
This instance, though, stands out because of a referee’s in-the-moment defense of the no-call to Hamilton, as Hamilton alleged Monday on the most recent episode of “Inside the Garage” podcast.
“The ref comes up to me after the play and is like, ‘Kyle, you’re an All-American, I shouldn’t have to call holding on you,’” Hamilton said on the podcast. “I’m like, ‘Come on, dude.’ I’ve never heard that one before. Ever.
“My jersey is all up my — it was ridiculous. I just laughed a little bit because I was like, ‘Did he really just say that?’”
Added Hart, one of the four podcast co-hosts with Hamilton, safety KJ Wallace and wide receiver Conor Ratigan: “This isn’t a discretion thing. This is rules.”
An ACC officiating crew worked the game, as is typical for Notre Dame home contests.
No. 14 Notre Dame (4-1) lost to then-No. 7 Cincinnati 24-13 on Saturday. Hamilton made three tackles and broke up one pass in the game. He has 28 tackles and a team-high three interceptions this season.
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