MIAMI GARDENS — Officials declare Virginia Tech’s winning touchdown to be an incomplete pass after a lengthy review of the final play, leading to No. 7 Miami’s 38 in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener. They escaped with a win against 34. Friday night for both teams.
The final snap came from the Miami 30 with three seconds left. Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones retreated 11 yards and lofted the ball toward the left corner of the end zone. There were at least seven players waiting, five of whom formed a scrum for the ball.
Officials initially determined Daquan Felton made the catch and Virginia Tech stormed the field to celebrate. After a lengthy review, umpire Jerry Magallanes, the same umpire who refereed the 2015 Miami-Duke game, ruled that the Hurricanes made a “series of mistakes” on the play in which they used eight laterals to win as time expired. He and the other referees were suspended for two games for the incident. Expired — The call was announced as canceled.
“I saw an incomplete pass,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “That’s all I can say.”
As expected, the view from the other side was different.
“That’s the tough part. The way the game ended, I hope they made the right decision,” Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said. “I hope they got it right, to accept that and reverse it and take it away from the kids, the coaches, the fans.”
With 1:57 left in the game, Cam Ward completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Horton for the winning score for the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0). Ward threw for 343 yards and four touchdowns at Miami, with three separate double-digit leads. The last of those came when the Hokies led 34-24 with 12:05 left.
Draughn threw two touchdown passes, Beishul Tuten rushed for 141 yards and added a score for Virginia Tech (2-3, 0-1). The Hokies are 1-10 since the start of 2022 in games decided by seven points or less.
For Virginia Tech, John Love had field goals of 52 and 57 yards. The Hokies turned three turnovers into 14 points at Miami and looked poised to defeat a team ranked No. 7 or higher in the AP Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 2, 2004. 6 West Virginia.
The go-ahead drive saved Miami from disaster twice. Xavier Restrepo went down on a 4-and-3 play and the ball was already headed his way, but he managed to catch it while sitting on the ground to extend possession.
“I slipped. Things happen. Cam gave me an opportunity,” Restrepo said.
“It’s a daily game for him,” Ward said.
Then, minutes later, on first down, Ward was dragged down by Virginia Tech’s Keyshawn Burgos for what appeared to be a sack.
Except it wasn’t. Ward escaped that tackle, broke another and flipped the ball back to Riley Williams for a 26-yard gain to the 1-yard line, earning praise from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Then the Hurricanes made a play and the ball, or rather Cole, bounced on the final play.
“I didn’t think there was enough evidence to overturn that,” Pry said. “Like I said, I hope they got it right.”
Take-out
Virginia Tech: Love kicks the ball deep with 20 seconds left in the first half after making a 57-yard field goal, giving Miami time to score three points, and a fake field deflected by Miami’s Malik Bryant. The Hokies will have questions about the goal. In the second half. If the Hokies had taken the three points there, all they would have needed on their final drive was another field goal instead of a touchdown.
Miami: Following Love’s 57-yard shot, Miami’s Andy Borregales took a long shot and connected with a career-high 56-yard field goal to end the first half and bring the Hurricanes within 24-17 at intermission. . “It’s a really big play,” Cristobal said.
Impact of public opinion polls
Miami avoided a crushing loss in the Associated Press Top 25 as of Sunday’s poll update. The Hurricanes should remain in the top 10.
First Published: September 28, 2024 1:10am
