Picture this.
You’re Virginia Tech Quarterback Kyron Drones. Earlier, you led your unranked Hokies into halftime with a 10 point lead against the #7 ranked team in the country, the 4-0 Miami Hurricanes. The Canes have the home field advantage, your cousin, who is a candidate for the Heisman trophy, at quarterback, and more offensive firepower then they have in decades. The powerhouse Hurricanes will receive the ball at halftime.
Despite all of the obstacles against you and your team, here you are. Up two scores at the half, serving as David while the omega-talented Hurricanes play Goliath.
Let’s skip ahead to the fourth quarter.
There is 0:03 seconds left to go in the football game. The Hurricanes have clawed their way back. Your team just hasn’t been able to get ANYTHING going offensively in the second half, but Miami just keeps pounding your defense for score after score. The one drive your team got into the redzone, your head coach decided to opt for a botched fake field goal attempt on 4th & 3 in the third quarter.
Those three points would have been nice about now, as the score is 38-34 in favor of the Hurricanes. You have just rushed for a first down and got out of bounds to stop the clock. It’s looking bleak. Coach Pry’s clock management has been abhorrent this drive, and with no timeouts remaining, this will be the last play of the game. You’re at Miami’s 30 yard line, on the hash mark closest to your sideline. Miami has three defensive backs inside the 5 yard line along with three down linemen. On your side, you’re running the formation “Trips Left”, which means there are three wide receivers on one side. This gives you the most optimal hail mary situation. In the middle of those wide receivers, there is a 6 foot 5 inch senior named Da’Quan Felton who gives the Hokies their win condition. Remember that name, it will be important for later.
The sheer improbability of this moment is insane. Coming into this game, the ‘Canes were 17.5 point favorites. From the dynamite the Hokies came out the gate within the first quarter, then Miami clawing their way back, then the poorly managed final drive.
It all comes down to this play. Right here, right now.
You take the snap, drop back 3 steps, read the three lineman in orange jerseys getting swallowed by your offensive line. You’re now at the 40 of Miami territory. Play clock has struck zero. You unleash your heave, and say a prayer. You’ll need it.
The ball travels all the way down to a moshpit of Hokie away jerseys and Hurricane orange home uniforms, with 3 of each party accompanying the endzone. One Hurricane defensive back stays back from the pile, ready to intercept the ball in case of a deflection. Finally the ball lands. There is commotion in the endzone, followed by some tugging and pushing, then a loose football in the endzone. Two referee’s come to sort out the dog pile, as Redshirt Sophomore defensive back Tyler Rowe comes away with the football, accompanied by a swarm of his teammates as they storm the field.
End scenario.
The lights at Hard Rock Stadium go off in celebration. Fireworks go off. The crowd in Miami is going crazy. A game for the ages, where Miami has come back from being down 14 at one point to push the Hurricanes’ record to 5-0 for the first time since 2017.
Suddenly, there is some more ruckus from the endzone.
The referee’s are signaling… touchdown Hokies!?
Suddenly, it’s now Virginia Tech storming the field in a frenzy, mobbing Da’Quan Felton, who allegedly came down with the ball. The head referee, Jerry Magallanes, immediately calls for each side to go back to their respective sidelines. He also calls the play to go under review. Fans, players, coaches, alumni, and officials alike see three replay angles. The first one, the main one the broadcast showed, has a Miami player blocking the view of the football, ruling it ineffective. The second replay, a zoomed in angle that is vertically aligned with the catch, would be good to digest if it wasn’t for Virginia Tech WR Steve Gosnell blocking the view of the football. That replay won’t work, either.
The final replay, a close up from the end zone where the ball was caught, is the most effective. This angle, however, is from the opposite side from where the ball is caught. Another handicap of the replay is that a slight bit of goal post padding obstructs the view of the catch, making the review long and drawn out. As spectators from across the country make speculations about the call, ESPN keeps showing replay angle #2 (opposite end zone angle) and replay angle #3 (same endzone, opposite side). Replay angle #2 favors Miami, due to the slightest image of the football looking like it might be in the lap of a Hurricane defensive back. Replay angle #3 is the opposite; showing that Da’Quan Felton had hands on the ball, while albeit having questionable possession of the football.
Usually, in this situation, there wouldn’t be enough evidence to overturn the call. To anybody who doesn’t understand how replays work in football, there has to be “clear and irrefutable evidence” to overturn the call on the field. If that requirement isn’t met, the call stands as is. In this case, that would be a touchdown for Virginia Tech. Around a minute in, it is clear that said clear and irrefutable evidence is nowhere to be found, leading to many across the country turning off their TV’s, under the impression that Virginia Tech won. However, the refs’ stay in the replay booth for another five minutes, adding to the suspicion and tension in the stadium, at home, and on the benches.
Finally, Magallanes comes out of the booth. The ruling?
“After further review, the ruling on the field is reversed. It is an incomplete pass.”
“The game is over.”
Pandemonium resumes at Hard Rock Stadium. The lights yet again cut out. Miami’s “Band Of The Hour” starts blasting the school’s fight song, and both Virginia Tech Head Coach Brent Pry and Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal come out from their sidelines to shake hands. DaQuan Felton has his head buried in his arms on one knee, and Kyron Drones goes to greet his cousin Cam Ward in complete awe.
After the game, Pry stated that he “hoped they (the officials) got that call right. To overturn it and take that from our kids, our coaches, and our fans, I hope they got that call right.”
Later, Pry stated “Usually when you’re in the booth for that long, you don’t overturn a call.” and when questioned about how he thought it was going to be ruled, he quipped that he “didn’t believe there was enough evidence to overturn the call.”
As a Virginia Tech fan, that call was highway robbery. I don’t believe it should have been ruled a touchdown in the first place, however, there was nowhere near enough evidence to overturn that call on the field. If that call isn’t overturned, that is a game that I will tell my kids 30 years from now. Instead, I will now be telling them about that game for the wrong reasons. My point of view is reflected by many others across the country as well. Miami QB Cam Ward did not play a good game, and the Canes got bailed out by a phantom holding call that took away a Virginia Tech touchdown in the third quarter. The drive ended in a punt, and then a score for Miami.
My belief is that the NCAA should look at this game to see if the right call was made. If it was? Cool. I can happily die on this hill, knowing that the officials made the right call and I was just being a biased Hokie fan.
If it wasn’t the right call? They should use that game as an example for officials on how to make judgment calls like that. Therefore, we won’t have these mind-boggling calls that the whole country (except for south Florida) disagrees with.
Michael Cannaday • Oct 10, 2024 at 7:25 am
Not sure where you get your facts but Virginia Tech us very talented team who is not playing up to their potential this season so far. The won by 20 points in their ACC wins last year and returned everybody.
Hokies are not afraid of MiMi and Miami will get beat multiple times this year. Check the matchup history, Tech beat Miami 8 or nine times from the mid nineties through mid 2000’s. We are on the rise as well. Go Hokies
Chuck • Oct 9, 2024 at 8:44 am
Hokies won