MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — 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.
When asked later what his emotions were like waiting for replay to make a ruling, Cristobal said, “It’s wild. [In] college football, you’re never all the way clear and easy to win a game, you’re never all the way out of it. It just keeps going. We did talk about it, that you don’t leave a game like this in the hands of the officials because you might be disappointed. At the end of the day, we just found a way to win.”
While Miami players went through various stages of emotion waiting for the final decision from the officials, Virginia Tech was left with overwhelming disappointment in the result. The Hokies led 34-31 with 8:40 left. But a quick three-and-out gave the ball back to Miami.
Though Ward had three turnovers in the game — two interceptions and one fumble — he was a wizard on what turned out to be the winning drive. On fourth-and-3 from the Virginia Tech 50, Ward went to Restrepo, who slipped and fell but still made the catch. He threw another third-down completion to Horton before his best play of the game.
On first-and-10 from the Virginia Tech 27, Virginia Tech defensive end Keyshawn Burgos had Ward in his grasp, but Ward slipped away. Then Kaleb Spencer tried to take him down. Ward thought quickly and flipped the ball to a waiting Riley Williams, who ran to the 2-yard line, stiff-arming an approaching Keli Lawson in the process. Ward said he always tells Williams in situations like that not to block but to wait for a possible outlet pass.
A play later, Ward threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Horton to give Miami the lead with 1:57 left. Drones then got to work, marching Virginia Tech down the field. With 8 seconds left, he scrambled to the Miami 30-yard line, leaving 3 seconds for one final play. Virginia Tech sent Felton, Jaylin Lane and Stephen Gosnell to the end zone; Miami had Horton, Mishael Powell, Jadais Richard and D’Yoni Hill. They all jumped for the ball at the same time. Felton came down with it, but he, Lane and Horton all appeared to be out of bounds, and the ball appeared to be moving on replay. Miami players involved in the play told their teammates it was an incomplete pass. “I thought it was going to be overturned just because everybody was out of bounds,” Ward said.
But because the play was called a touchdown on the field, Virginia Tech felt that was enough to win. “I don’t know how that call gets overturned,” Drones said. “Probably because we played here.”
Pry said it was hard to find the words to tell his team in the locker room afterward.
“They’re hurting. That’s why I said I hope they got it right,” Pry said. “I can tell them I’m proud, and I did, but that ain’t helping them right now.”