Miami and Virginia Tech took turns celebrating a victory Friday night after a wild final play that left anger and heartbreak for one team and wild jubilation for the other. There could be only one winner, of course.
Though Miami’s Isaiah Horton emerged from a tangle of seven Miami and Virginia Tech players in the back of the end zone, officials ruled that Virginia Tech receiver Da’Quan Felton had come down with the ball before it was wrestled away from him.
Touchdown, Virginia Tech.
The Hokies then ran onto the field in celebration, helmets raised high, believing they had won the game on a 30-yard Hail Mary heave into the end zone from Kyron Drones. Both teams milled on the field, Virginia Tech believing it had won, Miami incredulous over the call.
Confusion reigned. Head referee Jerry Magallanes ordered them back to their respective sidelines, and a replay review began.
Virginia Tech felt confident the call on the field would stand; Miami felt confident the replay officials would call the pass incomplete. At least six minutes passed, an interminable wait that Miami coach Mario Cristobal described as “liability issues that come with that, with the cardiac condition of everybody on the sideline.”
Magallanes got on the mic and announced the touchdown call on the field had been overturned, allowing the Hurricanes to celebrate a 38-34 victory.
In a statement issued two hours after the game ended, the ACC said, “During the review process of the last play of the Virginia Tech at Miami game, it was determined that the loose ball was touched by a Miami player while he was out of bounds, which makes it an incomplete pass and immediately ends the play.”
Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry, visibly upset, said afterward, “The way the game ended, I hope they got that call right. To take that, to overturn it and take it from our kids, our coaches, our fans, I hope they got it right.”
After the play ended, Pry said he ran over to the officials and asked, “How did you rule it?”
“He said, ‘Touchdown,'” Pry said. “Normally, when you look at something that long, it does not get overturned. I didn’t think there was enough evidence to overturn it. So, like I said, I hope they got it right.”
The ending capped a four-hour game that featured more Cam Ward magic, a stuffed fake field goal attempt, an Xavier Restrepo fourth-down catch while on his back, Bhayshul Tuten running roughshod over the Miami defense and Drones nearly willing his team to victory.
Miami overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit — their largest of the season — to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2017. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, dropped its third one-score game this season. In the aftermath, both coaches addressed an ending so wild, it seemed hard to comprehend an hour later.
“I saw an incomplete pass. That’s all I can say,” Cristobal said.
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