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Was it a touchdown or an incompletion? Did the officials get it right or did Virginia Tech get hosed?
Honestly, I have no clue.
I’m not sure any of the players involved in the mass of humanity fighting over the ball on the final play of the Miami-Va. Tech game have any idea, either.
Of this much, however, I am certain.
If a middle-of-the-pack SEC team had taken Georgia, Alabama or Texas down to the wire only to lose on a controversial call that was reversed upon review, everyone from the guys on College GameDay to the trolls on the platform formerly known as Twitter would be using as proof of the conference’s depth and quality.
Same with the Big Ten if Ohio State or Michigan was involved.
But because it’s the ACC, the close call and the way the game ended have taken on a distinctly different spin. Somehow it’s a sign that the 7th-ranked Hurricanes are a fraud, the conference isn’t any good and that the reversal of the final call was part of a conspiracy to protect one of the league’s few nationally relevant teams.
I admit the reversal did look suspect, especially since the ref involved is the same guy whose crew was suspended in 2015 for gifting Miami a win in the infamous “Lateral Game” against Duke. And because, as mentioned, even the replay didn’t produce any conclusive answers.
For what it’s worth, here’s the ACC’s official explanation: “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.”
Here’s the ACC reason for the overturn: “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.” https://t.co/EluE00Gp1F
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 28, 2024
But while the motivation behind the decision is a subject for debate, the other 2 points shouldn’t be.
It’s easy to forget that just a few weeks ago, Virginia Tech was viewed as a potential ACC title and Playoff contender, with an offense loaded with playmakers and a defense anchored by one of the nation’s best pass rushers. The Hokies are arguably 3 plays and coach Brent Pry’s questionable decision-making away from being 5-0 and right in the middle of that conversation.
The fact that the Hurricanes were able to beat them and stay in the conversation is a testament to quarterback Cam Ward. The Heisman Trophy frontrunner didn’t have his best game. But he made winning plays when his team needed them and pulled Miami through in a game it would have and has lost many times in the past.
That’s not the only thing we learned about the ACC in Week 5. Here are some of the other big takeaways:
Maalik Murphy gets better as the game goes on
Duke’s sophomore quarterback is still in the process of learning to harness his elite arm skill. And he has the inconsistency to prove it. To his credit, the Texas transfer already has the confidence and personality to overcome his slow starts and improve as the game progresses.
That resilience was on full display against rival North Carolina on Saturday when he bounced back from a dismal first half to lead the Blue Devils to their biggest comeback in 62 years and a win in the battle for the Victory Bell.
Murphy was just 7-of-19 for 60 yards before halftime as Duke was shut out against a Tar Heels defense that surrendered 70 points a week earlier against James Madison. But he was a different quarterback after the break. He hit on 8-of-15 passes for 149 yards in leading his team to 3 touchdowns and a 21-20 win that improved the Blue Devils to 5-0 for the first time since 1994.
The 2nd-half turnaround has become something of a trademark for Murphy. He’s completed 64% of his passes for 655 yards over the final 2 periods this season, compared to just 56% and 447 yards in his 1st halves.
UNC’s season is circling the bowl …
For a little over a half Saturday, it appeared as though North Carolina had successfully flushed last week’s 70-50 disaster at the hands of James Madison and was well on the way toward salvaging its season. Its defense was shutting Duke out. Its offense wasn’t self-destructing and was finding ways of moving the ball and putting points on the board other than handing it to Omarion Hampton.
Then, just like that, it all went sour.
The meltdown began with a holding penalty on a 4th down conversion inside the 10-yard line midway through the 3rd quarter. Instead of scoring a potential clinching touchdown, the Tar Heels settled for a field goal that left the door open for an epic Blue Devils comeback.
Even though UNC still has a winning record at 3-2, it has issues beyond the obvious on defense and at quarterback that don’t appear fixable. With a challenging schedule still ahead and another soul-crushing loss to recover from, the Tar Heels are clearly on life support.
FSU’s season is already down the drain
Whatever hope was bred from the Seminoles’ anything-but-impressive victory against Cal last week went flying out the window in Dallas on Saturday. Mike Norvell’s team didn’t just lose. It got embarrassed 42-16 by an SMU team it voted to keep out of the ACC.
It took 3 more interceptions, the last of which was taken back for an 82-yard touchdown, for Mike Norvell to decide he’s seen enough of DJ Uiagalelei. But at this point, it really doesn’t matter anymore. With Clemson coming to town next week and a trip to Notre Dame coming after that, FSU would realistically have to win all 5 of the other remaining games just to eke out bowl eligibility.
Given the way the Seminoles have played and the direction they’re going, they’ll be lucky to win any of those.
NC State can still play a little defense
OK, so Northern Illinois isn’t in the same class as Tennessee and Clemson, both of which rolled over the Wolfpack’s once-proud defense as though it was the Coyote standing in the path of an oncoming boulder in an old Roadrunner cartoon.
But the Huskies did beat Notre Dame in South Bend and spent a couple of weeks in the national rankings. So there’s reason to believe that, unlike rivals UNC and FSU, NC State might not be as bad as it has looked in its only 2 games to date against power conference opponents.
State recorded 4 sacks against an opponent that came into the game as 1 of only 5 in the FBS that had yet to allow any this season. It also had 12 TFLs, 2 interceptions and forced 4 fumbles while holding the Huskies to 279 total yards while contributing directly to 2 of the 3 touchdowns its team scored – one on a strip-sack by safety DK Kaufman for a score and another on a fumble recovery at the 1-yard line by Brandon Cleveland.
It’s only fitting that the game ended on an interception in the end zone by Tamarcus Cooley to clinch a 24-17 victory that puts the Wolfpack back on the right track heading into next week’s game against reeling Wake Forest.
Louisville’s missed opportunity
Last year, the Cardinals used a win against Notre Dame as the springboard to their breakthrough 10-win season. They had their chances to do the same in Saturday’s rematch in South Bend with an almost totally rebuilt lineup. But they let the opportunity slip away, literally, with a 24-17 loss that was as much their own doing as the Irish’s.
After going the first 3 games without a turnover, Jeff Brohm’s team coughed it up 3 times – twice on fumbles and once on a Tyler Shough interception – to help turn an early 7-0 lead into a 21-7 deficit. It’s a hole from which Shough and his offense nearly climbed out once they finally got rolling. But one final mistake –a late delay-of-game penalty on a 4th-and-1 play from near midfield ended up costing Louisville a shot at a touchdown that would have sent the game into overtime.
The loss won’t hurt the Cardinals’ chance of returning to the ACC Championship Game for the 2nd straight year. But it did create an air of vulnerability around them as they head into a difficult stretch starting next week against SMU and includes both ACC frontrunners Miami and Clemson.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
