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The officials always try to stay out of the way, especially when the stakes are highest in a college football game or any game. But late Saturday night in Berkeley, the refs found themselves in the eye of the storm, so to speak, in a game that featured the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes and Cal Bears.
The Hurricanes staged a furious 4th-quarter rally, storming back from 25 points down in the 3rd quarter, to stun the Bears, 39-38, and stay unbeaten at 6-0 going into their bye. That was the innocent part of things. But the Hurricanes appeared to get the benefit of a few officials’ calls late in Saturday’s game, including on the 5-yard game-winning touchdown pass from Cam Ward to Elijah Arroyo with 26 seconds left.
The Athletic’s Chris Vannini tweeted a picture of what appeared to be a missed illegal-man-downfield penalty on the Hurricanes that was not called on the touchdown. Instead, the call was missed, depending on your perspective, and Miami took the lead in the final seconds to steal another win.
Very much an illegal man downfield on that Miami TD. pic.twitter.com/JIBg0B79VN
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 6, 2024
Just moments earlier, when Cal appeared poised to close out the upset, a targeting penalty was not called on Miami, allowing the Hurricanes to get the ball back and drive downfield for the winning touchdown.
Last week, the Hurricanes held on for dear life in a 38-34 comeback win over Virginia Tech, benefitting from another controversial call that went their way.
The Hurricanes have a bye in Week 7 before visiting Louisville in Week 8.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.