The ACC defends officials' game-changing overturn of Hokies touchdown vs. Miami
By Sam Fariss
On Friday night, the Virginia Tech Hokies and No. 7 Miami Hurricanes' matchup turned into an absolute shootout as the game went down to the wire, the Hokies trailing by just 4 points.
As VT quarterback Kyron Drones led his team down the field once again, it looked like the Hokies might be able to win on a Hail Mary if it came down to it. As Drones flung the ball towards the end zone, the clock expired and wideout Da'Quan Felton soared skyward to catch the ball.
It was good, the Hokies had the lead and the clock was at 0:00. However, the play was reviewed and officials overturned the touchdown call. All of a sudden, Virginia Tech had lost and Miami moved to 5-0 for the first time since the program joined the ACC.
Also read: Did the refs save Miami with wildly unclear TD ruling? Virginia Tech WR thinks so
As Miami fans across the country celebrated the win, many football fans shared their displeasure with the refs overturning the call, basically deciding the game's result with the official review. While we won't say it's rigged, the changed call kept the top-ten Canes' record perfect and dropped the two-loss Hokies to a 2-3 overall record...
On Saturday morning, the ACC shared its defense and explanation of the officials' decision:
"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."
- Atlantic Coast Conference
At the end of the day, fans, players, and coaches aren't big-time supporters of calls by the referee determining the result of a game, especially when the initial call is overruled.
Most people were upset by the decision in the Virginia Tech and Miami game because it was a stretch that any angle provided "indisputable evidence" that the ball hadn't been caught. However, the conference has its officials' backs, the Hurricanes are still undefeated, and the Hokies have fallen to a losing record.
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