Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Zeke Motta (right) breaks up a pass intended for Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Marvin Shinn (left) during the first half of the BCS Championship game on Monday. (Photo: Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports) A controversial call following Notre Dame's first punt during Monday night's BCS National Championship Game was the correct one, said the officials coordinator for the NCAA. PHOTOS: Hilarious signs from BCS Championship LIVE: Quarter-by-quarter game analysis Notre Dame was penalized 15 yards after a special teams player came close to but did not hit Alabama's Christion Jones, who was back to return the punt. In fact, it seemed that an Alabama teammate came closer to interfering with the potential return than a Notre Dame defender. But according to NCAA officials coordinator Rogers Redding, a tackler does not need to actually come in contact with a return man to draw a 15-yard interference penalty. VIDEO: ESPN analyst's over-the-top antics TITLE GAME: Ticket prices through the roof Said Redding on the ESPN broadcast, "He did not make contact but the rule is that if he comes close enough that the officials judge he causes the player to not catch the ball, even though he didn't make contact, he still has to give him room. That was a good call." Alabama would take the 15 yards, thank you very much, and go on a 10-play, 61-yard scoring drive to take a 14-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter. The play was not the referring crew's first brush with controversy. On a third-down play right before Notre Dame's punt, quarterback Everett Golson seemed to connect with tight end Tyler Eifert along the left sideline – or, at the very least, came close enough to draw a review. The referring crew ruled on the field that Eifert bobbled the ball as he went out of bounds along the sideline. While Notre Dame called a timeout to entice the officiating crew to take another look at the play, there was no replay review. What conference is this referring crew from, you might ask? Why, the Pac-12. Of course, the Pac-12. 
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Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/01/07/lack-of-replay-punt-penalty-that-doomed-notre-dame-in-bcs-championship/1816213/