Was the Miami-Virginia Tech call correct? Here’s what you need to know (2024)

College football had another wild and controversial finish Friday night as seventh-ranked Miami escaped with a 38-34 win over rival Virginia Tech.

It ended with officials reversing a call on the field of a touchdown catch on a Hail Mary in the back of the end zone. The Atlantic Coast Conference later released a statement to reporters nearly two hours after the game to clarify the decision-making process.

From the ACC on the final play of Miami-Virginia Tech: "During the review process of the last play… 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."

— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) September 28, 2024

But what were the referees looking at? Why was the call reversed after six minutes of deliberation? Was there indisputable evidence to reverse that call? Did Miami — the ACC’s highest-ranked team in the Associated Press poll — receive a favorable ruling as the home team, which Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones suggested after the game.

Let’s dive in.

What happened on the play?

HAIL MARY NO GOOD 😳

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No. 7 Miami outlasted Virginia Tech after the Hokies' final play was ruled incomplete. pic.twitter.com/Xrpl2UFod9

— ESPN (@espn) September 28, 2024

With three seconds left on the clock — and Miami leading 38-34 — and the ball on the Miami 30-yard line, Drones lobbed a pass about 50 yards down the field into a crowd of three Virginia Tech receivers and four Miami defensive backs in the back of the end zone.

Virginia Tech’s Jaylin Lane and Da’Quan Felton met the ball at its highest point with Miami’s Isaiah Horton, Mishael Powell and Jadais Richard battling them for possession. Felton appeared to come down in bounds with at least one hand on the ball, but his body was physically on top of Lane and Horton, who were both clearly out of bounds.

After a brief scrum, Horton emerged from the pile with the football and Miami players began celebrating. Seconds later, after the field judge and back judge met to discuss what they saw, the play was ruled a touchdown on the field. Replay officials, though, immediately called down to the field and referee Jerry Magallanes announced the play would be reviewed upstairs.

What were referees looking at?

The decision to overturn a call is made collaboratively between the instant replay official at the game and the ACC’s game-day operations center in Charlotte, N.C. (other Power 4 conferences have a similar setup). According to the ACC league office, it was determined Felton never established clear possession of the ball as he was coming down, and the pass was incomplete, by rule, the moment the ball was touched by Holton, who was partially out of bounds.

Of course, it would’ve helped to hear this announced on the field by Magallanes. But nobody received clarification beyond the ruling of an incomplete pass.

Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said he was never given an explanation, and the league office did not release a statement regarding the call until 1:15 a.m. (ET).

According to the NCAA’s Instant Replay rule book, “there must be indisputable video evidence for an on-field officiating call to be changed by the Instant Replay Official, who is working from a private booth in the press box. Additionally, the play must have a direct competitive impact (ball possession, first down or score in question) on the game to warrant game stoppage for review. The Replay Official has authority to review a play, to stop game action and render a decision on any replay. On-field officials have no authority to request a review.

“The instant replay process operates under the fundamental assumption that the ruling on the field is correct. The replay official may reverse a ruling if and only if the video evidence (Rule 12-6-1-c) is convincing beyond all doubt that the ruling on the field was incorrect. Without such indisputable video evidence, the replay official must allow the ruling to stand.”

Replays shown on television and on the jumbo-sized screens inside the stadium were not clear enough to make the distinction easy for viewers. ESPN color analyst Andre Ware and rules analyst Matt Austin both argued on the broadcast that they didn’t know if there was enough evidence to overturn the call.

“I just don’t know where you see it on the replay to reverse the call on the field,” Ware said. “And had it been called incomplete, see it that way. I just thought the ruling — whatever was called on the field should stand. That’s tough.”

Was the right call made?

Even though the rules are clearly written to require indisputable evidence to reverse a call, there’s been a movement from officials over the last few years to prioritize getting the call right above all else.

So was the right call made in this case? There was no indisputable evidence that Virginia Tech did not catch the ball, but it’s also pretty clear — to the vast majority of neutral observers — that Virginia Tech probably didn’t complete the catch. Should that have been enough to overturn the call? Not according to the rule book, but the right call appears to have been made in the end.

Why did it take six minutes to reach a decision?

Like other power conferences, the ACC has collaborative instant replay located out of its game-day operations center. So, three officials in the stadium (instant replay official, communicator and technician) and the game-day operations staff in Charlotte worked collaboratively looking through multiple angles of the play before reaching what it felt was conclusive evidence to make its ruling.

Those officials are often able to see video angles not necessarily available on the broadcast.

In 2023, the average replay stoppage was 1 minute, 54 seconds.

Rough night for the officials

There were several controversial calls made in Friday’s game, including a holding penalty against Virginia Tech offensive lineman Kaden Moore that negated a 61-yard touchdown run by P.J. Prioleau late in the third quarter.

wiped off a 61-yard Virginia Tech TD with this “holding penalty”

look at that follow thru on the flag from the ref pic.twitter.com/GLIBsebN1q

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 28, 2024

The Hokies also had two players wearing the same number (17) on a long field goal that was made late in the first half — a clear rules violation. Had a flag been thrown, it would have wiped the field goal off the board. Virginia Tech was penalized for that infraction in its season-opening overtime loss at Vanderbilt when the Hokies had two players with the same uniform number on a punt return. After the 5-yard penalty was assessed, Vanderbilt kicked a 53-yard field goal.

(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)

Manny Navarro has been with The Athletic since September 2018 and covers Miami and recruiting. He's also the host of the "Wide Right" podcast. Manny's career started at The Miami Herald in October 1995 when he was a high school senior. He covered the Hurricanes, Heat, Marlins and high school sports for 23 years at the paper. He makes occasional appearances on WSVN's Sports Xtra on Sunday nights and is on the "Big O Show" with Orlando Alzugaray at 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. Follow Manny on Twitter @Manny_Navarro