Notre Dame Joe
All-Conference
I think the rule was pretty much the same <_<I think I'd accept the Texas/NU call more if it happened in other big games that ended in similar situations. Michigan/ND and FSU/Miami ended with the clock running off after Tate ran out of bounds and an incomplete pass by FSU. The refs didn't put the extra second back on in either of those games, so Texas was beneficial to an exception and not the rule.
And to the argument above, not all seconds are equal. It's like losing a millionaire losing a dollar vs losing one's last dollar.